POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


IN 


NEW  YORK  STATE 


BY 

LOUIS  DOW  SCISCO,  B.S.,  B.L. 


SUBMITTED   IN  PARTIAL   FULFILLMENT   OF  THE   REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE   DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR   OF  PHILOSOPHY 

IN  THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


IRew 

19O1 


6\ 


PREFACE 


THIS  work  is  intended  to  be  a  contribution  to  the  history  of 
partisan  politics  in  the  United  States.  Its  primary  purpose  is 
to  deal  with  the  machinery  and  methods  used  by  a  certain 
great  political  organization  which  has  played  a  part  in  Amer- 
can  history.  The  issues  upon  which  that  movement  based 
itself  are  also  treated,  but  it  has  not  been  the  purpose  of  the 
writer  either  to  advocate,  defend  or  condemn  them.  They  are 
dealt  with  just  to  the  extent  that  seems  necessary  to  make  in- 
telligible the  story  of  the  organization  that  worked  in  their 
name. 

The  partisan  system  of  the  American  people  is  the  link  be- 
tween the  people  and  the  government  which  both  rules  and 
serves  them.  It  is  a  mechanism  that  has  grown  up  from  the 
needs  of  the  nation,  altering  from  time  to  time  as  conditions 
change.  Its  duty  is  to  respond  to  public  sentiment  on  vital 
questions  of  the  hour,  to  test  the  strength  of  such  sentiment 
at  the  polls,  and  to  enact  the  sentiment  into  law  or  admin- 
istration if  the  people  so  express  themselves.  There  have 
been  times  in  American  history  when  the  partisan  system 
failed  to  meet  its  duty  squarely,  and  those  are  times  of  politi- 
cal confusion  and  re-arrangement.  It  was  in  one  of  these  per- 
iods that  the  nativist  movement  came  into  state  and  national 
politics.  Its  experience  is  full  of  suggestion  for  those  who  like 
to  trace  the  reasons  of  political  changes.  The  story  of  the 
brief  and  stormy  career  of  the  Know-Nothing  movement 
shows  how  an  issue  rejected  by  the  regular  parties  can  strug- 
gle into  power  despite  them  and  to  their  hurt.  It  shows  how 
public  sentiment  can  cast  aside  an  old  political  organization 
and  build  a  new  fabric  when  needs  require.  The  issue  of 
203]  5 


96f 


23 


6  PREFACE  [204 

nativism  wrecked  the   older   party  structures  and  was  itself 
wrecked  in  turn  by  a  stronger  issue. 

In  tracing  the  evolution  and  fate  of  this  interesting  political 
experiment  there  have  been  many  difficulties  resulting  from 
the  peculiar  nature  of  the  organizations  which  sprang  up  from 
time  to  time  to  voice  the  sentiment  of  nativism.  One  of  the 
features  which  has  been  especially  productive  of  confusion  in 
the  pages  of  writers  on  political  history  has  been  the  fact  that 
there  have  been  two  classes  of  political  organizations  in 
American  politics.  One  class  is  that  with  which  the  public  is 
most  familiar  to-day.  It  is  an  organization  whose  extent  is 
national,  and  whose  aims  include  that  of  securing  control  of 
the  national  government.  An  organization  of  this  sort  culti- 
vates exclusiveness  in  the  control  of  voters.  It  seeks  to  make 
itself  distinct  from  other  political  organizations  and  to  make 
the  division  clear-cut  between  its  adherents  and  those  of  simi- 
lar organizations.  We  call  it  a  political  party.  The  second 
class  of  organizations  are  less  familiar  to-day  than  they  were 
fifty  years  ago.  They  are  of  the  type  which  Mayor  Harper  of 
New  York  city,  in  1844,  called  "  a  political  organization  distinct 
from  party."  Usually  an  organization  of  this  sort  has  no  na- 
tional scheme  of  effort,  but  plays  its  part  in  state  or  local  poli- 
tics. The  special  characteristic  of  this  class,  however,  is  not 
the  area  which  it  covers  but  the  nature  of  the  allegiance  which 
it  demands  from  its  members.  It  is  not  exclusive  in  its  claims. 
It  permits  its  members  to  belong  to  other  political  organiza- 
tions and  to  act  openly  with  them.  This  type  of  organization 
the  writer  has  preferred  to  call  a  "  movement "  rather  than  a 
"  party."  It  was  these  "  movements,"  which  sprang  up  to 
represent  the  issues  which  the  organizations  of  the  regular 
parties  refused  to  assume,  that  caused  the  extraordinary  con- 
fusion of  American  politics  in  the  decade  of  the  fifties.  The 
rise  of  nativism,  as  well  as  many  other  phenomena  in  Ameri- 
can history  are  best  understood  when  the  real  nature  of  a 
"  movement "  is  kept  in  mind. 


CONTENTS 


nto 

PREFACE    5 

CHAPTER  I 

BEGINNINGS  OF  NATIVISM,    1807-1843 

Definition  of  nativism 16 

Special  importance  of  nativism  in  New  York 16 

Inherited  American  distrust  of  the  Catholic  church 17 

First  Catholic  congregation  in  New  York  in  1786 17 

The  Christmas  riot  of  1806 18 

Social  position  of  Irish  immigrants 18 

Growth  of  the  Irish  element  in  New  York 19 

First  definite  grievances  against  the  Irish 20 

English  anti- Catholicism  echoes  in  1829 2! 

The  Brutus  letters  of  1834 ai 

Catholics  break  up  an  anti  Catholic  meeting  in  1835 23 

Nativists  organize  politically  in  1835 23 

Nativist  ideas  formulated  by  massrmeeting 25 

Native  American  Democrats  organize  for  city  politics 26 

First  nativist  ticket  for  New  York  city  in  1835      27 

Political  nativism  spreads  to  other  counties 2j 

Morse  nominated  for  mayor  but  defeated  in  1836 28 

Nativists  present  a  ticket  for  the  fall  election 29 

Clark  nominated  for  mayor  and  endorsed  by  Whigs  in  1837 30 

Political  nativism  absorbed  by  Whig  Party 30 

Native  American  Association  exists  in  1838  and  1839 31 

Governor  Seward's  message  of  1840 32 

Catholics  demand  school-money  in  New  York  city 32 

Morse  nominated  for  mayor  and  defeated  in  1841 33 

American  Protestant  Union  organized 34 

Catholic  and  anti-Catholic  tickets  nominated 35 

Whig  general  committee  oppose  school  law  in  1842 3$ 

Riot  against  Irish  at  spring  election 36 

Nativism  persists  in  1842  and  1843 37 

205]  7 


CONTENTS 


[206 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  AMERICAN   REPUBLICANS,    1843-1847 

American  Republicans  organize  for  local  work  in  1843 39 

Their  rapid  growth  in  numbers 40 

Formulation  of  doctrine 41 

Unexpected  poll  of  votes  at  the  fall  election 43 

City  reform  issue  taken  up  in  1844 44 

Harper  nominated  for  mayor 45 

Whig  managers  support  Harper  and  elect  him 46 

^  Excitement  over  Philadelphia  riots 47 

First  nativist  state  convention  held  at  Utica 48 

Bargain  to  throw  nativist  support  to  Henry  Clay 49 

Whigs  fail  to  profit  by  the  bargain 50 

Split  threatened  in  Whig  Party 51 

Seward  Whigs  cut  loose  from  the  nativists  in  1845 52 

Harper  renominated  for  mayor 53 

Whig  managers  labor  to  overthrow  nativism 53 

Nativist  national  convention  at  Philadelphia ,  .  . 55 

National  organization  of  Native  Americans  formed 55 

New  York  city  campaign  for  the  fall  election  . 56 

Political  nativism  on  the  wane 57 

The  spring  election  of  1846 57 

Formation  of  a  nativist  state  organization 59 

The  fall  campaign  of  1846 60 

The  spring  campaign  of  1847 °° 

— Political  nativism  in  New  York  ends  with  1847 61 

Native  American  national  convention  at  Pittsburg 61 

CHAPTER  III 

RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES,    1844-1852 

Earlier  secret  societies  in  New  York 62 

Social  movements  take  up  the  secret  society  forms 62 

Application  of  the  secret  society  model  to  politics 63 

The  Native  Sons  of  America 64 

The  American  Brotherhood 64 

The  United  Daughters  of  America 64 

The  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics 65 

The  Order  of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner 65 

The  Order  of  Sons  of  America " .    .    .    .  67 

The  Benevolent  Order  of  Bereans 68 

The  American  Protestant  Association  .  68 


20/]                                                CONTENTS  9 

PAGB 

The  Order  of  United  Americans 69 

Expansion  of  the  O.  U.  A 71 

Reorganization  of  the  O.  U.  A.  in  1848 71 

The  O.  U.  A.  touches  politics  in  1850 72 

The  continued  growth  of  the  O.  U.  A.    .    .    .    .        73 

The  decadence  of  the  O.  U.  A 74 

The  results  of  the  nativist  societies'  work 75 

American  interest  in  the  European  uprisings  of  1848 76 

The  O.  U.  A.  Executive  Convention  begins  in  1850 77 

Secret  political  methods  adopted  in  1851 78 

The  political  machinery  of  the  O.  U.  A 78 

Effort  to  affect  presidential  politics  in  1852 81 

Nativism  in  the  local  fall  campaign  of  1852    . 81 

CHAPTER  IV 

RISE   OF   THE   KNOW-NOTHING   ORDER,    1853-1854 

Anti  Catholic  feeling  at  the  close  of  1852 84 

Gavazzi  agitates  against  the  Catholic  church  in  1853 85 

Abortive  effort  to  form  an  American  Party 85 

Organized  nativism  shows  itself  in  the  fall  campaign 86 

The  Star-Spangled  Banner  Order  forms  tickets 87 

Special  effort  to  defeat  Blunt  for  office 88 

Nickname  of  "  Know-Nothings  "  imposed  on  the  society 88 

The  Know-Nothing  state  ticket  of  1853 88 

Election  canvass  shows  growth  of  political  nativism 89 

Expansion  of  the  Know-Nothing  society 91 

Arrest  of  Parsons  and  the  free  speech  mass-meeting 92 

Popular  sympathy  with  nativist  ideas 93 

Appearance  of  the  Wide- Awakes  in  1854 94 

Lynch  summarizes  the  grievances  against  the  Irish 95 

Popular  curiosity  about  the  Know-Nothings 96 

Consolidation  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order  in  New  York 98 

Creation  of  the  National  Grand  Council 98 

Grand  president  Barker  forces  expansion 99 

The  Know  Nothing  mechanism  of  1854  described 100 

The  three  degrees  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order 100 

The  nature  of  a  Know-Nothing  council IOI 

The  nature  of  the  Grand  Council IOI 

The  nature  of  the  National  Council 102 

The  secret  ceremonies  and  signs 103 

The  nominating  methods  of  the  Know-Nothings 104 

The  executive  system  of  marshalling  votes 104 


10  CONTENTS  [2og 

FACE 

Means  used  to  control  votes 105 

The  strength  and  weakness  of  the  system 106 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  STATE   CAMPAIGN   OF    1854 

Confusion  of  state  politics  in  the  spring  of  1854 108 

The  temperance  political  issue 109 

The  anti- slavery  political  issue HO 

The  entry  of  nativism  into  state  politics no 

Know- Nothing  mystery  attracts  voters  to  the  order  ...                112 

Uncertainty  of  political  outlook 113 

Early  state  conventions  declare  their  platforms 1 14 

Nativist  enmity  toward  Seward's  leadership 115 

Seward  men  hold  control  of  Whig  convention 115 

Know-Nothing  delegates  help  to  nominate  Clark 116 

Unusual  increase  of  Know-Nothing  councils 117 

Nativists  plan  for  separate  state  ticket 118 

The  Grand  Council  nominates  a  slate  ticket 119 

The  Know- Nothing  state  ticket  of  1854 121 

Dissatisfaction  over  the  Council's  action 122 

Utica  Know-Nothings  organize  a  secession 122 

Appearance  of  nick-name  of  "  Hindoos  " 123 

Rival  Grand  Council  formed , 124 

The  November  election  makes  Clark  governor 125 

Delay  in  learning  results  of  election 125 

The  Know-Nothing  vote  by  counties 126 

Creation  of  a  Know-Nothing  state  committee 127 

s   Creation  of  the  test 128 

Plans  to  defeat  Seward  for  senator 129 

The  struggle  in  the  legislature  at  Albany  in  1855 I3° 

Seward's  re-election 131 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  INTRUSION   OF  THE  SLAVERY   ISSUE,    1854-1855 

Nativism  and  anti  slavery  as  national  issues 133 

The  Cincinnati  session  of  the  National  Council 134 

Text  of  the  Know-Nothing  oaths  of  1854 135 

Dislike  of  the  new  oaths  shown 138 

Break-down  of  the  older  parties  in  New  York  state 139 

Grand  Council  at  Syracuse  in  1855 140 


209]                                                CONTENTS  ,  l 

PAGE 

Nativist  legislation  put  aside  by  legislature 141 

Barker  reports  close  of  expansion  in  New  York  State 142 

Declaration  of  principles  adopted 143 

National  Council  meets  at  Philadelphia 144 

Southern  men  dominate  the  Council 145 

Pro-slavery  platform  passed  by  the  Council 146 

Anti-Southern  delegates  bolt  the  Council  session 146 

New  York  has  presidential  aspirants 147 

Reasons  of  friendship  for  the  South 148 

Break-up  of  the  Know- Nothing  system  in  other  states 149 

New  York  Grand  Council  meets  at  Binghamton 150 

It  refuses  to  accept  pro-slavery  position 150 

Text  of  the  Binghamton  Platform 151 

Anti-slavery  shown  to  be  stronger  than  nativism 152 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN   OF    185$ 

New  York  political  conditions  in  spring  of  1855 153 

Real  significance  of  the  state  campaign 155 

The  Barker  clique  consolidates  its  forces  in  New  York  city 156 

The  building  of  a  Seward  coalition 157 

The  Choctaws  and  Know  Somethings 159 

Expected  alliance  of  Know- Nothings  and  Democrats 160 

Expansion  of  the  Republican  organization  .    .    .    .    , 161 

The  turning-point  of  the  nativist  movement 161 

.Know-Nothing  state  ticket  of  1855  formed  by  convention 163 

Name  of  American  Party  used 163 

The  personnel  of  the  state  ticket 164 

Whig  Party  merges  with  Republicans 164 

Arguments  of  the  campaign 166 

Nativism  carries  the  state  election 167 

The  Know-Nothing  vote  by  counties 168 

The  speakership  contest  at  Washington 169 

The  speakership  contest  at  Albany 170 

^National  Council  at  Philadelphia  in  February,  1856 172 

Council  abandons  pro-slavery  position 172 

National  Convention  continues  Council  work 173 

Fillmore  and  Donelson  ticket  selected 173 

The  nativist  movement  becomes  a  national  party 174 

State  grand  councils  allowed  to  abolish  secrecy 174 

New  York  Grand  Council  throws  off  Barker's  control 174 

Biography  of  James  W.  Barker    .    .    . 175 


1 2  CONTENTS  [  2 1  o 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   CAMPAIGN   OF    1856   IN   NEW   YORK 

Grand  Council  of  February,  1856 177 

Prominence  of  the  slavery  issue  in  politics 178 

Anti-Fillmore  men  begin  to  organize 179 

National  Council  ceases  to  be  a  secret  body 181 

Anti-Fillmore  national  convention  at  New  York 182 

Know  Nothing  Party  struggles  against  an  exodus 184 

North  Americans  split  off  from  the  Order 185 

American  state  convention  nominates  a  state  ticket 187 

Fillmore  loses  heavily  in  New  York  State 189 

Republicans  carry  the  state  in  November 190 

The  Know-Nothing  vote  by  counties 190 

Proposals  of  change  postponed  by  the  Grand  Council 192 

The  Troy  Platform 193 

National  Council  dissolves  finally  in  1857 193 

Grand  Council  abolishes  secrecy  in  New  York 194 

Significance  of  the  abolition  of  secrecy 195 

The  origin  of  the  secret  system  characterized 196 

The  expansion  of  the  secret  system  explained  196 

The  alleged  dangerous  character  of  the  secret  system 198 

Alleged  oppression  of  voters  by  the  secret  system 199 

Actual  results  of  the  secret  system 200 

Possibility  of  success  by  secret  organizations  . 201 

CHAPTER  IX 

LOCAL    NATIVISM   IN   NEW   YORK   CITY,  1854-1860 

Confusion  of  local  politics  in  spring  of  1854 203 

Nativism  strongly  organized  for  effort 204 

Older  parties  adopt  nativist  policy 206 

Barker  nominated  for  mayor 207 

Sources  of  Barker's  support 208 

Defeat  of  Barker  and  alleged  frauds 210 

Consolidation  of  the  nativist  vote  in  1855 2I1 

The  slavery  issue  in  local  politics 213 

Revolt  against  the  Barker  clique      214 

Know-Nothing  Order  loses  its  mystery 216 

Cohesion  of  parties  disappears 217 

Local  aspects  of  presidential  politics 218 

Efforts  to  defeat  Wood  for  mayor  in  1856 219 

Nativist  strength  reaches  its  climax  in  the  city 220 


2ii] 


CONTENTS 


FAGB 

Break-up  of  the  nativist  secret  societies  in  1857     ............  221 

Combination  made  with  Republicans  on  ticket  .........    ....  222 

Fusion  made  again  for  election  of  1858  .......        ........  223 

Fusion  repeated  in  1859    ......................  224 

End  of  the  American  Party  in  1860     .................  225 

Revival  of  Nativism  in  1866     ....................  225 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  LATER   STATE   CAMPAIGNS,  1857-1860 

American  state  ticket  nominated  in  1857    ...............  227 

Text  of  the  platform  of  1857     ....................  227 

Lifeless  campaign  for  fall  election    ..................  229 

Shrinkage  of  the  nativist  vote  ....................  230 

Fusion  of  Americans  and  Republicans  mooted  in  1858     .........  231 

Attempt  to  unite  the  two  forces  at  Syracuse   ..............  232 

Failure  of  the  scheme  to  make  a  coalition  ...............  233 

American  vote  held  together  by  its  leaders     ..............  234 

Americans  adopt  balance-of-power  policy  in  1859     ...........  236 

Objections  to  the  name  of  Dorsheimer     ................  237 

The  last  success  of  political  nativism   .................  238 

American  leaders  take  sides  on  national  issues  in  1860     .........  238 

The  last  Grand  Council  held  at  Schenectady     .............  239 

The  split  in  the  Grand  Council    ...................  240 

CHAPTER  XI 

ANALYSIS   OF  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

Contradictory  character  of  nativist  doctrines  ..............  242 

The  nativist  theory  of  papal  hostility  to  America    ............  244 

Nativist  effort  to  put  lay  trustees  in  power  ...............  245 

Attitude  of  nativism  on  the  school  question    ..............  245 

Nativist  proscription  of  Catholic  office-seekers  .............  246 

Nativism  not  inconsistent  with  religious  liberty  .............  248 

Nativist  hostility  to  the  foreign  element  ................  248 

Nativist  ideas  as  to  naturalization     ..................  249 

Nativist  efforts  to  reform  election  abuses     .............    .    .  250 

The  nativist  idea  of  barring  foreigners  from  office     ....    .......  251 

Nativist  reforms  in  immigration  laws  .................  25  1 

The  real  nature  of  the  nativist  movement    .    ,    .............  252 

The  question  of  its  rightfulness     ...................  253 

The  real  mission  of  nativism     ....................  254 

SOURCES  .............   ................  255 


CHAPTER   I 

BEGINNINGS   OF    NATIVISM,   1 807-1843 

AMONG  the  many  political  issues  which  have  at  one  time  or 
another  claimed  the  attention  of  the  American  people  that  of 
nativism  has  its  place  in  history.  It  meant  hostility  to  every 
non-American  influence  that  could  clash  with  the  settled  habits 
of  the  American  community.  In  the  field  of  national  politics 
it  first  appeared  in  organized  form  in  1845  as  the  Native 
American  Party,  but  it  shortly  disappeared  after  a  brief  exhibi- 
tion of  activity.  In  1854  it  suddenly  came  into  the  field  again, 
this  time  upheld  by  the  Know-Nothing  Order,  and  again 
collapsed  after  a  short  life  of  three  years,  shattered  by  the 
impact  of  a  rival  issue.  Since  then  nativism  has  been  absent 
from  national  politics,  but  it  has  flashed  up  from  time  to  time 
in  the  politics  of  the  commonwealths,  and  there  is  no  cer- 
tainty that  it  may  not  again,  sometime,  astonish  the  nation  by 
a  new  stride  to  the  front.  The  Native  American  movement  of 
1845  was  too  weak  and  too  unsuccessful  to  leave  any  real  im- 
press upon  the  political  memories  of  the  nation.  The  Know- 
Nothing  Order,  on  the  contrary,  was  strong  for  a  time  and 
startling  in  the  changes  that  it  wrought.  It  brought  before 
the  people  new  ideas  and  new  methods.  It  roused  earnest 
enthusiasm  and  bitter  hatred  that  endured  long  years  after  the 
Order  itself  had  passed  away.  But  yet  its  career  was  too  brief 
to  permit  it  to  be  really  understood  then  or  since.  It  has  re- 
mained a  curious  political  memory,  whose  origin  and  aims 
and  sources  of  strength  are  obscure  topics  in  the  annals  of  po- 
litical change. 

The  doctrine  set  forth  by  these  two  national  organizations 
213]  '5 


l6  POLITICAL  NATJVISM  [214 

was  practically  the  same  in  both  cases.  In  the  earlier  move- 
ment it  was  often  called  "  Native- Americanism,"  and  in  the 
later  movement  "  Know-Nothingism,"  but  the  word  "  nativ- 
ism  "  proved  to  be  equally  descriptive  and  far  more  convenient. 
The  basic  idea  of  nativism  was  that  a  person  whose  primal 
sympathies  or  interest  lay  outside  of  the  American  body- 
politic  could  not  be  in  real  sympathy  with  the  American  sys- 
tem, and  must,  therefore,  be  a  danger  to  that  system.  When 
the  idea  of  nativism  was  applied  more  specifically,  it  took  two 
chief  forms.  It  declared,  first,  that  any  person  of  foreign 
birth  was  unfitted  for  citizenship  until  time  had  obliterated  his 
active  interest  in  the  mother-land  from  whence  he  came,  and, 
second,  that  any  person  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church  was 
unfitted  for  citizenship,  because  obedient  to  an  extra-territorial 
ruler.  All  through  the  struggle  of  nativism  for  recognition 
these  twin  sentiments  went  side  by  side  as  associates,  backed 
by  a  single  political  propaganda  and  seldom  clearly  differenti- 
ated. Wherever  the  political  movement  raised  itself  it  was 
founded  upon  these  two  ideas.  The  sincerity  of  their  advo- 
cates was  often  doubtful,  for  in  some  states  the  nativist  move- 
ment was  a  mere  cloak  for  local  issues  or  political  intrigue, 
but  whatever  was  the  real  fact,  the  movement  everywhere 
affected  a  belief  in  the  twin  doctrines  of  nativism.  In  every 
state  it  was  ostensibly  hostile  to  aliens.  In  almost  every  state 
it  was  frankly  anti-Catholic. 

The  study  of  nativism  in  the  politics  of  New  York  is  pe- 
culiarly interesting,  because  New  York  city  was  a  great  center 
oi  organized  nativism.  The  sentiment  of  nativism  was  ever 
strongest,  it  may  be  said,  in  those  cities  of  the  sea-board  and 
of  the  great  West  which  were  depots  of  immigration.  It  was 
in  New  York  city  that  the  impulse  began  which  developed 
into  the  Native  American  Party  of  1845.  It  was  here,  also, 
that  the  nativist  system  of  secret  politics  was  begun.  It  was 
here,  too,  that  the  Know-Nothing  Order  was  founded  and 
built  up.  It  was  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia  that  nativism 


2  1  5  ] 


BE  G  INN  INGS  OF  NA  TI  VISM 


was  most  typical  and  genuine  as  a  sentiment.  The  charac- 
ter of  popular  nativism  was  everywhere  shaped  by  local  condi- 
tions and  local  prejudices.  In  New  York  city  and  through- 
out New  York  state  it  was  particularly  directed  against  the 
Irish  -Catholic  element  of  the  population.  Nativism  was  not 
merely  a  political  theory  here.  It  was  a  feeling  based  upon 
deep-rooted  antipathies  of  the  past,  upon  glaring  abuses  of  the 
present,  and  upon  earnest  anxieties  for  the  future,  How  well 
founded  these  feelings  were  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  say. 
They  existed,  and  political  nativism  drew  its  strength  from 
them. 

In  tracing  the  antecedents  of  the  nativist  movement  in  New 
York  state  the  mind  naturally  harks  back  to  those  occasional 
appearances  of  anti-Catholic  feeling  under  the  colonial  estab- 
lishment. In  the  eighteenth  century  men  of  English  blood 
and  English  speech  still  vaguely  feared  the  heavy  hand  of  the 
Roman  church.  The  new  American  commonwealth,  which 
was  born  of  the  old  province  of  New  York  in  1776,  was 
largely  English  in  blood,  and  much  more  largely  English  in 
thought.  To  its  people  there  came  as  a  heritage  from  their 
English  past  a  fear  and  a  hatred  of  Rome.  In  the  State  Conven- 
tion of  1777  the  debates  over  the  proposed  constitution  showed 
this  old  inherited  fear,  and,  though  the  constitution  itself  was 
spared  the  blemish  of  open  anti-Catholicism,  the  official  oaths 
then  put  in  force  were  such  as*  to  bar  conscientious  Catholics 
from  office.1  At  this  time  there  was  not  a  single  Catholic  con- 
gregation in  the  state  to  alarm  the  constitution-makers.  Their 
hostility  to  the  Roman  church  was  based  only  on  theory. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Catholic  church  made  its  appear- 
ance in  the  state.  First  a  mission  was  established,  and  then 
in  1786  the  first  congregation  came  into  existence  by  the  con- 
secration of  St.  Peter's  church  in  New  York  city.  The  chief 
city  of  the  state  began  to  grow  steadily  as  soon  as  it  was  re- 
leased from  the  danger  of  war.  The  steady  flow  of  trans-  At- 

1  Shea,  ii,  p.  158. 


I g  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [2l6 

lantic  immigration  set  in,  bringing  over  English  and  Irish  peo- 
ple in  greater  numbers  year  by  year.  Many  of  the  Irish  were 
probably  Protestants  in  faith,  but  the  Catholic  element  was 
large,  and  much  of  it  was  gathered  into  the  congregation  of 
St.  Peter's.  The  Irish  population  massed  itself,  too,  on  cer- 
tain streets,  making  its  separateness  in  the  community  more 
noticeable.  Finally,  in  1806,  came  the  earliest  notable  exhi- 
bition of  native  hostility  to  this  foreign  element,  growing  out 
of  the  inherited  feelings  of  the  community.  On  Christmas  Eve 
a  crowd  of  non-Catholics  gathered  in  front  of  St.  Peter's 
church  to  interrupt  the  services,  but  were  disappointed  to  find 
none  in  progress.  The  news  of  the  incident  spread.  By 
Christmas  night  a  crowd  of  Irishmen  rallied  to  the  scene  and 
a  street  fight  began.  The  city  watchmen  interfered,  and  one 
of  them  was  killed  by  a  knife-thrust  from  an  Irishman.  The 
non-Catholics  now  gathered  in  force,  the  Irish  were  put  to 
flight,  and  except  for  the  hurried  arrival  of  Mayor  Dewitt  Clin- 
ton, their  homes  would  have  been  sacked  by  the  victors.1 
This  isolated  incident  shows  how  early  there  existed  antag- 
onism directed  against  the  Irish-Catholic  population.  Their 
separateness  in  life  and  habits  invited  it. 

Probably  the  most  important  element  in  this  antipathy  was 
the  pure  contempt  which  men  usually  feel  for  those  whose 
standards  of  life  seem  inferior.  This  feeling  was  felt  toward 
all  immigrants  of  the  poorer  class,  irrespective  of  their  race. 
To  the  mind  of  the  average  American  the  typical  immigrant 
was  a  being  uncleanly  in  habits,  uncouth  in  speech,  lax  in  the 
moralities,  ignorant  in  mind  and  unskilled  in  labor.  This  atti- 
tude of  mind  is  reflected  in  the  gibes  and  comments  of  the 
press  when  it  had  occasion  to  refer  to  the  new-come  peoples. 
The  immigrant  bore  a  stamp  of  social  inequality,  not  to  be 
overlooked  while  it  existed,  and  suggesting  an  impersonal 
sort  of  antipathy  on  the  part  of  the  native-born.  In  addition 
to  this,  so  far  as  the  Irish  were  concerned,  there  was  the 

1  American  Register,  i,  p.  14. 


2  1  7] 


BE  G  INN  INGS  OF  NA  TI  VI  SM 


primal  fact  of  racial  difference  between  them  and  Americans. 
The  English  immigrant  easily  settled  down  among  men  of  his 
own  blood  and  tradition,  was  understood  by  them,  and  soon 
accepted  as  a  fellow.  The  Irish  immigrant,  of  another  blood 
and  another  thought,  stood  somewhat  apart  in  character.  He 
was  not  so  well  understood,  nor  so  easily  accepted  by  men  of 
English  blood  and  American  birth.  The  same  was  true  of  the 
other  non-English  nationalities,  but  being  weaker  in  numbers, 
they  were  quickly  absorbed,  while  the  thousands  of  Irish  held 
clannishly  together,  and  prevented  absorption.  It  may  also  be 
true  that  the  traditional  English  dislike  for  the  Irish  people 
had  a  certain  vague  response  in  the  American  branch  of  the 
race. 

At  the  time  of  the  Christmas  riot  of  1806  the  Irish  popula- 
tion of  New  York  City  numbered  several  thousand  souls,  and 
was  beginning  to  be  a  factor  in  local  politics.  The  first  ap- 
pearance of  political  nativism  followed  closely  upon  the  riot. 
In  the  spring  of  1807,  when  assemblymen  were  to  be  chosen, 
some  of  the  local  Federalists  put  forward  an  "American 
ticket,"  and  supported  it  by  inveighing  against  the  growing 
power  of  the  foreign  vote.1  The  ticket  failed  to  enlist  enough 
support  to  be  successful,  and  from  that  time  there  seems  to 
have  been  no  important  appearance  of  nativism  in  politics  for 
many  years.  Year  by  year  the  Irish  element  continued  to 
grow.  In  1808  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's  was  roughly 
reckoned  at  14,000  souls,  mostly  Irish.  In  1810  the  Irish- 
American  press  began  with  The  Shamrock?  Instead  of  being 
Americanized,  the  Irish  element  steadily  maintained  its  own 
separateness  as  years  passed.  It  had  its  own  region  of  settle- 
ment, its  own  church  and  its  own  press.  Its  influence  on 
elections  also  grew.  In  1812,  as  an  instance,  the  Democratic 
Party  in  the  city  appealed  especially  to  the  Irish  for  aid  against 
the  Federalists.3  An  estimate  made  by  the  Catholic  bishop  in 
1815  reckoned  13,000  souls  in  his  diocese,  of  whom  11,000,  he 

1  Smith,  p.  10.  2  Kehoe,  ii,  p.  686.  *  Smith,  p.  10. 


20  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM 

thought,  were  Irish.1  A  continuous  stream  of  immigration 
flowed  into  the  country  through  the  port  of  New  York  after 
the  war  with  England  closed  in  1815.  The  stream  left  a  resi- 
duum in  the  city  as  it  passed  through  to  the  interior.  From  this 
stream  the  Irish-Catholic  community  was  constantly  recruited. 
The  digging  of  the  Erie  canal  employed  an  army  of  Irish 
laborers  in  the  interior  counties,  and  small  groups  became  per- 
manent settlers  at  various  points.  By  1826  a  new  bishop  was 
able  to  estimate  the  Catholic  population  at  25,000  in  New 
York  city  alone,  and  150,000  in  the  whole  New  York  diocese.2 
New  Catholic  congregations  came  into  existence  in  various 
parts  of  the  state  as  a  result  of  the  work  on  the  Erie  canal. 
In  1829  there  were  eight  churches  in  the  interior  and  five  in 
New  York  city  and  Brooklyn.3 

During  this  growth  of  the  Irish  population  the  attention  of 
native  Americans  was  called  to  them  in  ways  often  unfavora- 
ble. A  burden  of  pauperism  and  crime  was  laid  upon  the 
American  public  by  the  growth  of  foreign  immigration,  and 
the  Irish  attained  an  unenviable  reputation  for  their  own  con- 
tribution to  the  burden.  Since  1817  the  city  of  New  York 
had  been  obliged  to  give  public  aid  to  the  foreign  poor,  and 
when  alien  population  reached  the  interior  a  cry  for  relief  was 
heard.  In  1830  an  effort  to  shift  the  burden  of  the  counties 
upon  New  York  city  met  a  protest.  The  city  complained 
that  it  was  itself  overburdened  with  expense,  and  that  the  cost 
of  its  almshouse,  bridewell  and  penitentiary  was  more  than 
half  caused  by  the  foreign  element.4  The  lawlessness  and  pau- 
perism of  the  Irish  were  the  first  real  and  definite  grievances 
held  against  them  by  the  natives  of  the  soil.  Their  clannish- 
ness  caused  them  to  be  looked  upon  as  people  who  not  only 
were  strangers  to  American  society,  but  were  determined 
to  remain  so.  Their  social  life  and  thought  were  centered 
around  their  church,  and  that  church  resolutely  held  itself 

1  Shea,  ii,  196.  2  Ibid.  »  Ibid. 

*N.  Y.  Assembly  Docs.,  1830,  No.  260. 


219]  BE  G  INN  INGS  OF  NA  TIVISM  2 1 

aloof  from  the  ideas  of  the  New  World.  It  began  to  be  felt 
by  Americans,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  that  a  church 
which  showed  no  inclination  to  put  itself  in  touch  with  Amer- 
ican ideas  was  one  to  be  viewed  with  distrust.  About  1829 
the  attention  of  Americans  seems  to  have  been  drawn  more 
closely  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church  as  a  consequence  of  the 
flurry  in  England  over  the  subject  of  Catholic  emancipation. 
The  hostility  to  the  Roman  church  which  was  awakened  in 
English  pulpit  and  press  by  the  emancipation  idea  found  an 
echo  in  the  United  States,  and  political  anti- Catholicism  came 
fairly  upon  the  scene  at  last.  The  warning  was  raised  by  the 
religious  press  against  danger  from  papal  power.  It  met  very 
little  response  indeed  from  the  people,  but  it  at  least  reinforced 
the  distrust  which  had  been  growing  against  the  Irish  Catho- 
lics and  the  church  to  which  they  belonged.  The  idea  was 
broached  here  and  there  that  the  presence  of  Catholics  in  an 
American  community  might  be  a  political  danger,  on  account 
of  the  obedience  that  they  owed  to  the  Pope.  The  essential 
features  of  nativism  had  been  brought  before  the  people  of 
New  York  by  1830  as  a  natural  result  of  the  social  conditions 
of  the  time.  The  Irish-Catholic  element  had  become  disliked 
because  it  exemplified  the  most  objectionable  features  of  alien 
manners  and  an  alien  church.  The  dislike  only  needed  formu- 
lation and  a  theory  to  become  open  and  active  nativism. 

The  vague  antagonism  against  the  foreign  Catholics  which 
had  gradually  grown  up  in  New  York  city  out  of  existing 
conditions  finally  reached  the  point  of  organization  in  1835. 
The  impulse  which  brought  this  about  was  the  publication  by 
the  New  York  Observer,  early  in  1834,  of  a  series  of  twelve 
letters  signed  by  "  Brutus,"  under  which  pseudonym  was  con- 
cealed the  personality  of  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  afterward 
famous  as  inventor  of  the  telegraph.  Morse  wrote  these  let- 
ters immediately  after  a  visit  to  Europe.  While  at  Vienna  he 
had  learned  of  the  existence  of  the  Leopold  Foundation,  a 
Catholic  organization  intended  to  aid  church  expansion  in 


22  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM  [22O 

America.  This  society  seemed  to  him  designed  to  subvert 
American  liberty,  and  when  he  returned  to  New  York  he  em- 
bodied his  knowledge  and  his  views  in  the  Brutus  letters. 
His  thesis  was  that  the  Holy  Alliance  and  the  Papacy  had 
organized  the  Leopold  Society  to  build  up  Catholic  power  in 
America ;  that  the  American  Catholic  hierarchy  was  to  gain 
control  of  American  politics  and  society,  and  to  shape  them 
as  ordered  by  its  absolutist  masters ;  that  the  work  had  actu- 
ally been  begun  and  must  be  checked.  He  suggested  as  pro- 
tective measures  the  denial  of  the  electoral  franchise  to  future 
immigrants  and  the  demand  by  public  opinion  that  the  Catho- 
lic clergy  make  public  its  administrative  work  as  the  Protest- 
ant churches  were  accustomed  to  do.1  These  letters  of  Brutus 
formulated  an  anti-Catholic  argument  for  Americans.  They 
attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  all  over  the  country  by  their 
evident  sincerity,  and  the  directness  of  their  accusations.  The 
existence  of  an  un-American  foreign  element  was  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  a  national  problem.  In  New  York  city,  where 
Morse  was  known  personally,  the  Brutus  letters  gave  great 
impetus  to  the  idea  of  taking  definite  measures  against  the 
very  evident  growth  of  foreign  influence.  Nativism  could 
henceforth  surround  itself  with  the  sanctity  of  patriotic  profes- 
sions. 

During  the  year  1834  the  seed  sown  by  Morse  was  taking 
root.  One  of  its  results  was  the  formation  of  the  New  York 
Protestant  Association,  whose  object,  according  to  an  official 
statement,  was  "  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  gospel  truth 
and  to  show  wherein  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  tenets 
aud  dogmas  of  popery."  It  was  not  a  political  body,  but  it 
seems  to  have  used  political  arguments  against  the  Catholic 
church.  The  denunciations  of  Catholicism,  which  were  uttered 
regularly  at  its  meetings,  exasperated  the  Catholic  element, 
until  finally  the  irritation  broke  forth  into  violence.  On  March 
13,  1835,  one  of  the  association  meetings  was  held  at  Broad- 

1  Foreign  Conspiracy,  a  reprint  of  the  Brutus  letters. 


22 1 ]  BEGINNINGS  OF  NATIVJSM  2$ 

way  Hall  to  discuss  the  question  "  Is  popery  compatible  with 
civil  liberty  ?"  In  the  midst  of  the  proceedings  a  crowd  of 
visitors  were  seen  forcing  their  way  through  the  audience  and 
beginning  a  disturbance  that  straightway  turned  into  a  free 
fight.  The  presiding  clergy  hurriedly  fled,  and  amid  the 
crash  of  breaking  lamps  and  benches,  the  discussion  ended.1 
The  intruders  at  this  meeting  were  Irish- Catholics,  and 
though  the  Catholic  clergy  hastened  to  disavow  the  act  and  to 
express  regret,  the  mischief  was  done.  In  the  presence  of 
this  object-lesson  of  Catholic  aggressiveness  the  Brutus  letters 
took  on  new  meaning  as  a  warning  to  Americans. 

Just  two  weeks  after  the  affair  at  Broadway  Hall  political  na- 
tivism  launched  itself  into  local  politics.  On  March  27,  1835,  a 
caucus  of  American-born  citizens  of  the  Fourteenth  Ward  met 
to  nominate  a  distinct  ward  ticket.2  At  least  one  other  ward 
followed  this  example  at  once.  The  Democratic  press  gave 
the  movement  notice  by  denouncing  it  as  a  Whig  device  and 
implying  insincerity  in  its  effort.3  On  the  latter  point  the 
press  was  probably  wrong,  but  the  reference  to  Whig  approval 
was  entirely  correct.  The  Whig  press  encouraged  nativism 
softly  and  Whig  caucuses  endorsed  its  nominees  for  office. 
It  is  owing  to  this  latter  fact  that  the  identity  of  the  movement 
was  completely  lost  and  that  the  poll  of  votes  gives  no  hint  of 
its  strength  except  to  show  that  Whigs  and  nativists  together 
could  not  carry  the  wards  in  which  nativists  were  organized. 
The  nativist  and  Whig  alliance  which  showed  itself  in  the  city 
election  of  1835  is  a  fact  to  be  noted.  All  through  the 
quarter- century  that  nativism  played  a  political  part  in  New 
York  there  was  close  relation  between  the  two.  It  had  the 
appearance  of  a  natural  affinity,  but  it  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
Democratic  leaders  steadily  refused  to  ally  themselves  to  a 
movement  which  would  lose  them  the  confidence  of  the  Irish- 

1  Courier- Enquirer,  1835,  March  19.         2  Courier- Enquirer,  1835,  April  3. 
1  Post,  1835,  March  30. 


24  POLITICAL  N ATI  VIS M  [222 

Catholic  vote.  Whig  leaders,  on  the  other  hand,  could  do  so 
readily,and  did  not  hesitate  to  join  hands  with  nativism  when 
to  their  interest.  The  election  of  1835  is  also  notable  as 
showing  American  protest  against  foreign  interference  at  the 
polls.1  This  was  one  of  the  grievances  of  nativism.  From  a 
very  early  period  the  loafer  and  bully  had  been  features  of 
election  work  in  New  York  city,  seizing  every  opportunity  for 
violence  and  fraud  that  would  favor  the  tickets  for  which  they 
worked.  This  sort  of  thing  was  objectionable  enough  when 
carried  on  by  natives  of  the  soil,  but  it  was  unbearable  when 
taken  up  by  aliens.  When  ward  leaders  aggravated  the  abuse 
by  organizing  the  despised  foreign  element  into  gangs  to  carry 
on  the  old  work  of  assault  and  brow-beating  there  arose  a  note 
of  protest.  The  social  inequality  between  assaulters  and 
assaulted  was  too  apparent. 

The  nativist  movement  of  1835  was  too  weak  at  its  beginning 
to  create  at  once  a  general  city  organization,  but  after  the  spring 
election  was  past  it  was  enabled  to  supply  the  need.  In  the 
Common  Council  which  met  after  election  there  occurred  the 
incident  of  a  foreign-born  member  rising  to  move  the  dismissal 
of  an  office-holder  who  happened  to  have  served  in  the  Revo- 
lution.2 It  was  a  very  convenient  event  for  the  nativist  lead- 
ers, and  they  at  once  took  advantage  of  it.  A  public  meeting 
was  called  by  them  "  to  take  into  consideration  means  to 
counteract  the  undue  influence  which  foreigners  now  possess 
over  our  elections,  and  also  to  consider  the  propriety  of  for- 
eigners holding  offices  which  can  be  filled  by  native  citizens."3 
Here,  nearly  twenty  years  before  the  Know-Nothing  move- 
ment, was  the  announcement  of  one  of  the  ideas  for  which 
that  movement  stood,  namely,  the  exclusion  of  foreigners  from 
public  office.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  although  the  nativist 
movement  of  1835  had  its  start  in  suspicion  of  foreigners  as 

1  Courier- Enquirer,  1835,  April  15. 

*  Courier- Enquirer,  1835,  June  Io-  *  Posti  1&3S*  June  9- 


223]  BEGINNINGS  OF  NATIV1SM  2$ 

Catholics,  yet  it  did  not  base  itself  on  any  religious  issue.  It 
placed  itself  before  the  people  as  an  exponent  of  good  citizen- 
ship only.  It  may  properly  be  said  here,  as  throwing  light  on 
all  that  comes  after,  that  nativism  in  New  York  city  from  first 
to  last  was  mainly  an  expression  of  antagonism  toward  the 
clannishness  of  Irishmen  and  Irish  ways.  Nativism  at  times 
worked  on  a  theory  of  good  citizenship,  and  attracted  an 
element  to  whom  that  idea  appealed.  At  other  times  it 
worked  upon  a  theory  of  religious  effort,  and  received  support 
from  people  whose  sympathies  were  enlisted  on  the  side  of 
religion.  Whatever  were  its  professions,  however,  nativism 
always  drew  its  vitality  from  the  half-instinctjw^Jfepling-  ojF 
racial  antag^njsrn  between  Anglo-American  and  Celtic  blood. 
The  public  meeting  that  was  called  by  the  nativist  leaders 
took  place  June  10,  1835.  Its  resolutions  form  one  of  the 
earliest  documents  of  political  nativism  in  New  York.  They 
eulogized  the  services  of  Revolutionary  veterans,  protested 
against  their  removal  from  office  by  foreigners,  condemned  the 
holding  of  office  by  aliens,  and  ordered  a  general  organization 
of  nativists  in  the  city.  The  most  important  of  them  was 
this: 

Resolved,  That  we  as  Americans  will  never  consent  to  allow  the  government 
established  by  our  Revolutionary  forefathers  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  foreigners,  and 
that  while  we  open  the  door  to  the  oppressed  of  every  nation  and  offer  a  home  and 
an  asylum,  we  reserve  to  ourselves  the  right  of  administering  the  government  in 
conformity  with  the  principles  laid  down  by  those  who  have  committed  it  to  our 
care. 

The  meeting  of  June  loth  was  a  preliminary  to  general  or- 
ganization. James  Watson  Webb,  editor  of  the  Courier  and 
Enquirer,  took  great  interest  in  the  movement  and  put  his  press 
at  its  service.  In  later  years,  he  took  to  himself  the  credit  of 
its  existence.1  On  June  2/th  he  began  to  urge  citizens  to  or- 
ganize as  nativists  for  political  action.  The  field  of  local  poli- 
tics was,  of  course,  already  occupied  by  the  two  great  national 

1  Courier- Enquirer,  1855,  June  7- 


26  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [224 

parties  at  this  time,  but  the  new  movement  was  not  planned  to 
be  antagonistic  to  either.  It  was  to  be  a  local  organization 
which  voters  might  join  without  casting  aside  their  regular 
party  affiliations.  A  mass-convention,  called  for  by  the  meet- 
ing of  June  loth,  seems  to  have  taken  place  early  in  July  and 
to  have  organized  the  new  movement  under  the  name  of  the 
Native  American  Democratic  Association.  An  executive  com- 
mittee was  appointed  with  power  to  issue  a  declaration  of  prin- 
ciples, that  is  to  say,  a  platform.  On  July  loth,  the  declaration 
was  issued  T  and  the  new  movement  was  then  fairly  under  way 
as  a  factor  in  the  politics  of  the  city  at  large.  Its  official  organ 
was  a  little  paper  called  the  Spirit  of  '76.  The  official  head  of 
the  movement  was  James  O.  Pond,  chairman  of  the  general 
executive  committee.2 

The  principles  of  the  movement,  as  declared  in  its  platform, 
were  opposition  to  office-holding  by  foreigners,  opposition  to 
pauper  and  criminal  immigration  and  opposition  to  the  Catho- 
lic church.  Its  opposition  to  the  church  was  placed  on  the 
ground  that  the  church  was  a  political  engine.  The  platform 
further  declared  that  the  movement  was  not  a  part  of  the  Whig 
Party,  but  that  it  stood  outside  of  party  lines.  Through  the 
summer  of  1835,  the  work  of  organizing  different  wards  was 
pushed  with  some  success,  aided  by  the  steady  preaching  of 
the  nativist  press.  All  the  latent  antipathy  toward  Irishmen 
found  an  outlet  as  the  nativist  movement  got  on  its  feet. 
Although  the  movement  was  professedly  anti-foreign  in  a 
broad  sense,  yet  the  utterances  of  the  time  always  singled  out 
the  Irish  for  denunciation.  Specific  causes  of  offense  were 
eagerly  sought  for  by  the  nativist  press,  although  the  real 
offense  was  not  specific  at  all.  An  anonymous  writer  to 
the  press  touched  on  the  truth  when  he  complained  of  the 
Irish  Catholics  that  "  they  are  men  who,  having  professed  to 

1  Courier- Enquirer,  1835,  JUV  r4- 
3  Courier- Enquirer,  1835,  October  9. 


225] 


BE  GINNfNGS  OF  NA  TIVISM 


become  Americans  by  accepting  our  terms  of  naturalization,  do 
yet,  in  direct  contradiction  to  their  professions,  clan  together 
as  a  separate  interest  and  retain  their  foreign  appellation."  l 
No  better  statement  of  nativist  complaint  could  have  been 
made. 

The  managers  of  the  new  movement  held  their  organization 
firmly  to  local  politics,  even  repudiating  their  official  organ 
because  it  declared  its  presidential  preferences.2  The  policy 
was  made  necessary  by  the  bi-partisan  character  of  the  organ- 
ization. At  the  same  time  the  undercurrents  of  politics  were 
drawing  the  nativist  organization  into  close  touch  with  the 
local  Whig  Party.  At  this  period  political  nominations  were 
usually  made  by  co-operation  of  committees  and  mass-meet- 
ings. It  was  customary  to  hold  a  mass-convention  of  voters 
to  appoint  a  committee  on  nominations.  This  committee  was 
expected  to  make  out  a  ticket  and  present  it  before  a  second 
mass-convention  for  acceptance.  It  was  a  clumsy  method  and 
New  York  city  was  soon  to  outgrow  it,  but  by  this  system 
the  first  nativist  local  ticket3  was  made  in  October,  1835.  It 
was  headed  with  the  name  of  James  Monroe,  nephew  of  the 
president  of  that  name  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  city.  At 
the  announcement  of  this  ticket  the  local  Whig  leaders  de- 
cided to  throw  their  influence  in  its  favor.  This  was  done» 
not  by  formal  endorsement  but  by  mere  omission  to  name  any 
Whig  nominees.  This  act  left  the  local  contest  one  between 
nativists  and  Democrats. 

The  rise  of  nativism  in  New  York  city  with  its  suggestion 
of  suppressing  foreign  influence  had  meanwhile  touched  a  re- 
sponsive chord  in  other  places  where  the  foreign  element  was 
known.  In  Kings  county  a  nativist  movement  nominated  an 
assemblyman  and  the  local  Whig  organization  stepped  aside 

1  Imminent  Dangers.  2  Courier-  Enquirer,  1835,  October  9. 

*  Congress,  James  Monroe.  Assembly,  Orlando  Waller,  James  O.  Pond,  Anson 
Willis,  Frederick  A.  Tallmadge,  Adrastus  Doolittle,  Isaac  P.  Whitehead,  John 
Monat,  Charles  Weeks,  Jr.,  Clarkson  Crolius,  Jr.,  Robert  B.  Ruggles,  Abel  Decker. 


28  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [226 

to  give  it  the  field.  In  Albany  county  the  Whigs  engrafted 
nativism  upon  their  local  platform.  Wherever  the  nativist 
movement  showed  itself  the  Whig  leaders  turned  to  it  hope- 
fully as  an  influence  that  was  necessarily  arrayed  against  the 
Democracy.  The  latter  party  took  heed.  In  New  York  city 
the  Democratic  leaders  temporarily  put  aside  their  foreign 
friends  as  a  sop  to  the  new  sentiment  and  made  their  local 
ticket  as  purely  American  as  the  nativist  ticket  itself.1  The 
extraordinary  growth  of  the  new  movement  was  a  surprise. 
At  the  November  election  it  nevertheless  failed  of  success.  In 
Brooklyn  it  elected  John  Dikeman  to  the  Assembly,  but  in  New 
York,  even  with  Whig  support,  it  cast  only  forty  per  cent,  of 
the  total  vote.  At  the  same  time  it  was  a  very  encouraging 
thing  for  the  nativist  leaders  to  find  so  hearty  a  response  as 
had  been  given  to  their  doctrine.  It  indicated  better  success 
at  future  elections. 

The  nativist  movement  maintained  its  organization  through 
the  winter  after  the  campaign  of  1835.  The  ward  associations 
of  this  period  were  in  the  nature  of  political  clubs  permanently 
organized.  Nativism  busied  itself  in  circulating  petitions  ask- 
ing for  change  of  naturalization  laws.2  When  presented  to 
Congress  in  June  following  they  formed  a  roll  of  5000  names. 

As  the  spring  election  of  1836  drew  near,  the  nativist  exec- 
utive committee  called  the  usual  conventions  and  ward  cau- 
cuses. On  April  7th  the  name  of  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  was 
accepted  as  a  nativist  nomination  to  the  mayoralty.3  No  more 
typical  and  thorough  nativist  could  have  been  chosen  than  the 
author  of  the  Brutus  letters,  yet  in  one  respect  the  selection 
was  unfortunate.  He  was  a  Van  Buren  Democrat  on  national 
issues  and  on  the  eve  of  a  presidential  election  the  Whig  lead- 
ers refused  to  lend  support  to  a  recognized  Democrat.4  The 
Whig  Party  in  New  York  city  was  called  together  to  make  a 

1  Courier  Enquirer,  1835,  November  2.      2  Courier- Enquirer,  1836,  March  12. 
*  Courier- Enquirer,  1836,  April  8.  *  Courier- Enquirer,  1836,  April  II. 


227]  BEGINNINGS  OF  NATIVISM  2$ 

separate  nomination,  and  by  this  action  Morse  lost  all  chance 
of  election.  On  ward  tickets,  however,  the  nativists  and 
Whigs  effected  a  fusion.  There  is  little  to  say  of  the  brief 
local  campaign.  The  vote  on  mayor I  stood  as  follows : 

Democratic  Party about  15,950  votes. 

Whig  Party about  6,130  votes. 

Equal-Rights  movement.2 about  2,710  votes. 

Nativist  movement about  1,490  votes. 

On  the  ward  tickets  the  fusion  vote  won  control  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  and  was  able  to  dictate  a  distribution  of  city  pat- 
ronage on  nativist  principles.  This  was  a  gain  of  some  im- 
portance for  nativism.  Nevertheless  this  did  not  conceal  the 
inability  of  nativism  to  make  political  headway  as  an  inde- 
pendent movement. 

A  presidential  campaign  followed  the  spring  elections,  and 
the  attention  of  the  public  was  turned  away  from  the  issues 
which  the  nativist  movement  sought  to  present.  Still  the  or- 
ganization persisted.  In  October  another  nativist  ticket 3  was 
made  up,  and  the  Whig  leaders  again  gave  it  their  support, 
bringing  it  before  a  Whig  mass-convention,  and  endorsing 
every  nominee  but  one.*  The  political  press  of  New  York 
city  was  too  busy  with  weightier  matters  to  pay  much  heed  to 
local  politics  in  this  campaign,  and  nativism  received  little 
notice.  The  movement  still  held  to  life  in  Brooklyn  with 
much  the  same  relations  to  the  Whig  Party  that  it  had  in  New 
York.  It  was  beginning  to  be  viewed  by  the  public  as  an 
nnex  to  the  Whig  organization.  From  the  vote  of  Novem- 


1  Valentine  Manual,  1854. 

'The  Equal-Rights  organization  took  its  name  from  its  opposition  to  the  crea- 
tion of  monopolies. 

"Congress,  Edward  Curtis,  Ogden  Hoffman,  Ira   B.  Wheeler,  James  Monroe. 
Senator,  Frederick  A.  Tallmadge.   Register,  James  Gulick.    Assemblymen,  none. 

4  Courier- Enquirer,  1836,  November  I. 


30  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM  [228 

her,  1836,  the  strength1  of  the  political  groups  in  New  York 
city  seems  to  have  been  as  follows  :2 

Democratic  Party about  15,520  votes. 

Whig  Party about  15,130  votes. 

Nativist  movement about     1,610  votes. 

Equal-Rights  movement about        960  votes. 

Nativism  had  apparently  gained  slightly  in  political  strength 
owing  to  the  popularity  of  Colonel  Monroe,  who  was  again 
on  its  ticket  this  year. 

Again  political  nativism  appeared  before  the  public  in  the 
spring  of  1837,  as  the  city  election  approached.  On  March 
1 3th  its  convention  nominated  Aaron  Clark  for  the  mayor- 
alty, and  drew  up  an  address3  vigorously  denouncing  the 
Irish  as  an  element  which  deliberately  kept  separate  from  the 
American  people,  and  followed  clerical  dictation  in  mat- 
ters political.  As  was  expected,  the  Whigs  endorsed  the  can- 
didacy of  Clark,  and  this  time  the  fusion  was  successful  in 
carrying  the  city.  Clark  was  elected  by  3300  plurality,  with  a 
common  council  of  the  same  politics.  In  this  campaign  the 
nativist  movement  cannot  be  estimated  apart  from  the  Whig 
Party.  The  constant  alliance  of  nativists  with  Whigs  had 
brought  about  the  practical  absorption  of  the  weaker  organiza- 
tion. The  fusion  was  complete.  The  daily  press  treated  the 
election  as  a  Whig  victory  solely,  and  neither  in  the  struggle 
itself,  nor  in  the  political  gossip  that  followed  the  struggle,  was 
nativism  referred  to  as  a  distinct  element.  The  nativist 

1  In  this  work  the  strength  of  split  tickets  has  been  figured  in  the  following 
way  :  First  is  figured  the  median  vote  of  each  political  group,  that  is  to  say,  that 
vote  in  each  group  which,  when  applied  to  the  various  combinations  on  split 
tickets,  will  give  the  least  variation  from  the  actual  poll  of  the  several  nominees. 
Second,  the  poll  of  each  nominee  who  represents  more  than  one  group  is 
divided  among  those  groups  in  proportion  to  the  median  vote  of  each  group. 
Third,  an  average  of  the  poll  assigned  to  each  group  is  made,  and  represents  the 
strength  of  the  ticket  of  that  group. 

1  Commercial  Advertiser,  1836,  November  12.         3 Herald,  1837,  March  14. 


229]  BEGINNINGS  OF  NATIVISM  3! 

movement,  in  fact,  ended  with  this  election,  absorbed  in  its 
hour  of  triumph.  When  the  new  Common  Council  took  con- 
trol the  leaders  of  nativism  took  office  and  were  henceforth 
Whigs.  It  is  possible  that  the  Native  American  Association 
may  have  continued  in  life  as  a  non-political  body,  but  facts  are 
obscure  as  to  its  fate. 

It  was  four  years  before  nativism  in  New  York  city  again 
declared  itself  as  an  organized  political  movement,  but  chance 
references  here  and  there  show  the  existence  of  non-political 
societies  during  that  interval  whose  work  was  more  or  less 
along  nativist  lines.  Their  presence  bridges  over  a  gap  in 
which  the  old  antagonisms,  though  existent,  played  a  very 
insignificant  part.  One  of  these  societies  is  revealed  by  a  peti- 
tion presented  to  the  state  Senate  on  March  5,  1838.1  It  was 
from  a  Native  American  Association  in  New  York  city,  of 
which  H.  Hunt  was  president,  with  Abm.  Tappen,  J.  P.  Whit- 
ticar,  Alexander  Hamilton  and  John  Bancker  as  vice-presi- 
dents.2 It  explains  that  "  the  vote  of  a  native  American,  who 
has  much  at  stake,  with  a  better  knowledge  of  our  institutions, 
and  a  greater  ability  to  decide  upon  the  merits  of  candidates 
for  office,  is  borne  down  and  rendered  nugatory  by  ignorant 
and  lawless  aliens,  who,  having  little  to  gain  and  nothing  to 
lose,  are  indifferent  alike  to  the  purity  and  permanence  of  our 
social  and  political  institutions  ;  "  wherefore  the  association 
asks  for  a  registry  of  voters.  In  April,  1838,  a  petition  to 
Congress  from  citizens  of  New  York  city  asked  a  change  in 
naturalization  laws,  and  in  May  following  certain  citizens  of 
Kings  county  asked 3  specifically  for  a  law  requiring  aliens  to 
reside  twenty-one  years  before  naturalization.  This  idea  of 
twenty- one  years'  residence  was  destined  to  play  a  prominent 
part  later  as  an  idea  of  the  Know-Nothing  movement. 
During  1839  organized  nativism  showed  itself  again  under 
the  title  of  the  Native  American  Association  of  New  York 
City,  which  may  or  may  not  be  the  same  body  as  that  which 

Senate  Journal,  1838.          'Original  in  State  Library.         8  Jour.   Congress. 


32  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [230 

existed  in  1838.  In  May,  1839,  this  association  petitioned 
the  state  Senate l  for  a  registry  law  to  prevent  election  frauds  in 
New  York  city.  Despite  the  disappearance  of  political  nativ- 
ism,  then,  there  remained  nativist  societies  for  at  least  two 
years  longer,  earnestly  antagonistic  to  the  foreign  element. 
At  the  same  time  the  anti-Catholic  feeling  aroused  during 
the  movement  also  persisted  in  the  community,  kept  alive 
chiefly  by  the  Protestant  clergy. 

Early  in  1840  came  the  impulse  which  was  to  arouse  nativ- 
ism  into  new  activity.  Governor  William  H.  Seward,  being 
openly  friendly  toward  the  foreign  element  in  New  York  state, 
saw  fit  to  incorporate  in  his  annual  message 2  of  January, 
1840,  a  brief  paragraph  about  education.  In  this  paragraph 
he  stated  that  children  of  foreigners  were  often  without  the 
advantages  of  public  education  in  consequence  of  racial  or  re- 
ligious prejudice  against  them,  and  therefore  he  would  recom- 
mend "  the  establishment  of  schools  in  which  they  may  be 
instructed  by  teachers  speaking  the  same  language  with  them- 
selves and  professing  the  same  faith."  In  New  York  city  at 
this  time  there  was  a  Catholic  population  of  about  70,000  3f 
supporting  several  schools  without  public  aid.  The  public 
schools  of  the  city  were  under  the  management  of  a 
society  decidedly  Protestant  in  its  membership  and  ideas. 
In  immediate  response  to  Governor  Seward's  suggestion,  the 
Catholics  of  New  York  city  demanded  a  share  of  the  school 
moneys  for  their  own  schools  4  and  were  at  once  opposed  in 
the  demand  by  the  officers  of  the  Public  School  Society. 
Twice  during  1840  the  Catholic  request  came  before  a  Demo- 
cratic common  council  and  twice  the  application  was  re- 
jected, but  only  after  long  debate  and  active  canvasses  that 
aroused  bitter  antagonism.  Nativism  again  asserted  itself  in 
connection  with  the  question.  Anti -foreign  and  anti-Catholic 

1  Senate  Journal,  1838.  2  Senate  Docs.,  1840. 

8  Kehoe,  ii,  pp.  459,  685.  *  Proc.  Bd.  Assts.,  1840,  February  17. 


231]  J3EGINA7fArGS  OF  NA  77 VISM  3 3 

sentiment  rallied  behind  the  Public  School  Society  as  repre- 
senting American  ideas  of  undenominational  education.  It 
was  a  logical  outcome  of  the  struggle  that  political  nativism 
should  take  on  organization  anew. 

Directly  after  the  fall  election  of  1840  a  new  paper  of  nativ- 
ist  character  appeared,  copying  the  name  of  its  predecessor, 
the  Spirit  of  '76*  A  meeting  of  native  Americans  also  took 
place,2  but  whether  or  not  they  succeeded  in  getting  them- 
selves organized  is  not  clear.  The  movement  was  a  feeble 
one  and  the  daily  press  barely  noticed  it.  With  the  early 
months  of  1841  the  Catholics  carried  their  cause  before  the 
legislature  at  Albany  and  their  former  antagonists  continued 
the  contest  in  this  new  field.  The  struggle  was  still  in 
progress  when  the  New  York  city  election  of  April  came 
round  and  nativists  were  encouraged  to  build  up  a  new  nativ- 
ist  movement  as  an  expression  of  public  sentiment.  This 
effort  of  theirs  is  very  obscure.  It  was  embodied  in  a  Demo- 
cratic American  Association  which  nominated  Samuel  F.  B. 
Morse  for  the  mayoralty.3  In  former  years,  when  the  New 
York  city  Whigs  were  a  political  minority,  their  leaders  wel- 
comed nativism  as  a  force  that  would  cripple  the  Democracy, 
but  in  1841  the  Whigs  were  strong  and  nativism  was  a  menace 
to  the  local  party.  The  dissension  which  sprang  up  in  the 
new  movement  was  said  to  have  been  fomented  by  Whig 
leaders.4  One  faction  of  nativists  repudiated  Morse's  nomina- 
tion as  irregular,  while  another  faction  vigorously  confirmed 
its  regularity.  On  the  morning  of  election  day  a  forged  letter 
of  withdrawal  with  Morse's  signature  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers and  when  the  polls  closed  he  had  received  only  77 
votes.  The  trick  had  scattered  his  friends.5  It  seems  hardly 
possible  that  the  movement  of  1841  could  have  been  at  all 
strong  either  in  numbers  or  in  organization. 

1  New  Yorker,  1840,  November  14.         *  Herald,  1840,  November  10. 

5  American,  1841,  April  12.  *  Post,  1841,  April  14.  6  Ibid. 


34 


POLITICAL  NATJVISM 


Separately  from  the  Democratic  American  Association,  an 
•entirely  different  organization  was  planned  in  the  spring  of 
1841  and  brought  into  existence  after  the  city  campaign  was 
past.  Its  object,  as  it  declared,  was  to  unite  all  those  who  were 
'"  opposed  to  the  perversion  ol  the  common  school  fund  to  sec- 
tarian purposes."  The  determined  fight  made  by  the  Catholics 
seemed  likely  to  continue  for  some  time,  although  the  legis- 
lature put  aside  their  plea  indefinitely  in  May.  This  new 
organization  was  intended  to  be  the  nucleus  of  opposition  to 
Catholic  plans.  Organized  on  May  30,  1841,  under  the  name 
of  American  Protestant  Union,1  it  chose  as  its  president  that 
well-tried  nativist,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse.  Although  semi- 
religious  in  nature,  the  Union  was  yet  a  legitimate  part  of 
political  nativism.  Its  formally-adopted  principles  evidence 
this  in  these  words  : 

Resolved,  That  we  form  ourselves  into  a  national  defensive  society,  and  call 
on  Protestants  of  all  and  every  denomination  of  Christians,  together  with  the 
friends  of  our  institutions  generally,  to  aid,  assist  and  confirm  us  in  this  confedera- 
tion for  our  common  welfare. 

Resolved,  That  this  association  shall  be  styled  and  known  by  the  name  of  the 
American  Protestant  Union,  the  object  of  which  shall  be  to  preserve  for  ourselves 
and  secure  to  posterity  the  religious,  civil  and  political  principles  of  our  country, 
according  to  the  spirit  of  our  ancestors,  as  embodied  and  set  forth  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  and  the  federal  Constitution. 

The  work  for  which  the  Union  was  organized  came  to  hand 
when  the  local  political  parties  took  steps  to  present  tickets  for 
the  fall  election.  New  York  city  would  choose  at  the  Novem- 
ber election  two  state  senators  and  thirteen  assemblymen,  and 
the  fate  of  Catholic  requests  would  in  large  measure  rest  with 
these  men.  The  Union  accordingly  roused  itself,  and  began 
in  October  to  ascertain  the  views  of  candidates.  A  consid- 
erable nativist  sentiment  in  both  of  the  great  parties  was  in- 
clined to  lend  aid  to  the  opponents  of  Catholic  wishes.  In  the 
Democratic  Party  the  nominating  committee  drew  upon  itself 
the  denunciation  of  an  Irish-Catholic  mass-meeting  by  favoring 

*  Ob  server,  1841,  June  12. 


233]  BE  G INNINGS  OF  NA  77  VI SM  3  5 

the  friends  of  the  Public  School  Society.1  In  the  Whig  Party 
the  anti-Catholic  feeling  was  strong  enough  to  force  a  certain 
pro-Catholic  aspirant  off  the  ticket2  and  to  place  in  the  local 
platform  a  declaration  against  sectarian  schools.3  The  trend 
of  events  was  toward  nullifying  Irish-Catholic  influence  just  at 
the  moment  when  it  was  most  desirous  of  asserting  itself.  In 
this  emergency  Bishop  Hughes,  as  leader  of  the  Irish-Catholic 
element,  took  an  unexpected  step  by  causing  the  nomination  of  a 
separate  ticket  by  an  Irish-Catholic  mass-meeting.4  This  was 
the  "  Carroll  Hall  ticket,"  so  often  referred  to  in  later  years. 
Apparently  the  bishop's  purpose  was  to  rebuke  the  Democratic 
leaders  by  showing  that  the  Catholics  held  the  balance  of 
power  in  the  politics  of  New  York  city.  This  at  least  was 
the  interpretation  put  upon  his  act.  The  sequel  was  the  imme- 
diate announcement,  on  November  1st,  of  a  "  Union  ticket," 
made  up  on  the  bi-partisan  principle.  This  ticket5  was  selected 
by  a  committee  of  members  of  the  Democratic  American  or- 
ganization, acting  under  the  auspices  of  the  Protestant  Union.6  / 
It  was  hoped  to  unite  the  anti-Catholic  sentiment  upon  the 
Union  ticket  and  balance  the  Carroll  Hall  ticket.  The  brief 
campaign  that  followed  these  nominations  was  spirited.  The 
daily  press,  without  exception,  condemned  the  Catholic  bishop 
for  the  action  he  had  taken,  but  he  held  firmly  to  his  course, 
protesting  that  he  had  not  meddled  with  politics.7  On  election 
day  the  strength  of  the  several  tickets  wasvas  follows : 8 

Whig  Party about  15,980  votes. 

Democratic  Party about  15,690  votes. 


Catholic  movement about     2,200  votes. 

Anti-Catholic  movement about        470  votes. 

Anti -slavery  movement about        120  votes. 


1  Post,  1841,  October  27.  2  Tribune,  1841,  October  25,  28. 

3  Tribune,  1841,  October  30.  *  Ibid. 

6  Senators:  Isaac  L.  Varian,  Morris  Franklin.  Assemblymen  :  Horace  St.  John, 
David  D.  Field,  Joseph  Tucker,  Edward  Sanford,  Linus  \V.  Stevens,  George  G. 
Glasier,  William  Jones,  David  F.  R.  Jones,  Elbridge  G.  Baldwin,  William  B. 
Maclay,  Charles  M.  Graham,  Jr.,  Solomon  Townsend,  Nathaniel  G.  Bradford. 

6  Jour.  Commerce,  1841,  November  3. 

7Kehoe,  i,  666,  8  J^ribune,  1841,  November  12. 


36  POLITICAL  N ATI V ISM  [234 

The  vote  seemed  to  prove  that  the  Catholics  held  the  Demo- 
cratic organization  at  their  mercy,  for  those  nominees  who  had 
not  received  Catholic  endorsement  were  defeated.  The  Union 
ticket  received  very  inadequate  support.  Many  nativists  pre- 
ferred to  vote  for  the  Whig  nominees,  who  were  known  to 
favor  the  Public  School  Society. 

The  school  question  came  up  again  before  the  next  legis- 
lature and  dragged  along  into  the  spring  of  1842.  The  feel- 
ing against  the  Catholics  still  existed  in  New  York  city  and 
showed  itself  in  the  political  work  and  school-bill  agitation 
that  preceded  the  April  election.  No  organized  nativist  move- 
ment showed  itself,  however,  even  when  the  Catholics  again 
made  a  nomination  of  their  own.  The  Protestant  Union  and 
Democratic  American  organizations  were  both  invisible.  Na- 
tivists looked  for  aid  to  the  local  Whig  Party  rather  than  to 
independent  action,  and  they  were  not  disappointed.  On  the 
very  day  that  the  Whig  governor  signed  a  new  school  bill,  as 
asked  by  the  Catholic  leaders,  the  Whig  general  committees 
of  New  York  city  officially  declared  their  opposition  to  its 
provisions.1  The  time  had  come,  they  said,  to  "manfully  re- 
sist the  misguided  spirit  of  sectarian  dictation  which  has  sac- 
rilegiously invaded  our  legislative  halls."  The  local  Whig 
organization  became  representative  of  nativism  by  this  step. 
In  the  Democratic  organization  the  leaders  gave  no  recogni- 
tion to  nativist  sentiment,  but  in  several  of  the  wards  the  De- 
mocracy split  into  two  factions,2  one  dominated  by  Irish-Catho- 
lics and  the  other  by  native-born  voters.  The  old  antipathies 
became  outspoken  and  bitter  while  these  changes  went  on. 
The  excitement  of  election  aggravated  the  feeling.  After  the 
polls  were  closed  on  election  night  the  city  streets  were  filled 
with  a  mob  which  drove  before  it  the  hated  Irish,  and  stoned 
the  windows  of  the  Catholic  bishop.8  Mayor  Morris  placed 

1  Com.  Advertiser,  1842,  April  u.  2  Herald,  1842,  April  14. 

1  Contm.  Advertiser,  1842,  April  13. 


235]  BEGINNINGS  OF  NATIVISM  37 

militiamen  on  duty  to  guard  the  Catholic  churches  from  vio- 
lence. 

The  riot  of  April,  1842,  was  a  final  ebullition.  Governor 
Seward  had  permitted  the  defeat  of  the  Public  School  Society, 
and  however  bitterly  nativists  might  resent  his  act,  the  new 
school  law  must  be  accepted.  Henceforth  the  public  schools 
of  New  York  city  were  to  be  controlled  by  an  elective  board 
chosen  in  each  successive  June.  At  the  first  elections  held  in 
June,  1842,  the  opponents  of  Catholic  ideas  generally  united 
in  each  ward  on  union  tickets,  regardless  of  old  party  lines. 
Organized  nativism  in  this  form  scored  a  victory  by  capturing 
the  school  board.  Nativism  was  now,  as  a  result  of  the 
school  struggle,  a  fixed  sentiment  in  the  community.  In  the 
fall  of  1842  the  Whig  managers  appealed  to  it  for  aid  and 
met  a  willing  response  that  seriously  affected  the  Democratic 
ticket  on  election  day.1  In  the  spring  campaign  of  1843,  a 
published  notice  called  upon  all  Americans  to  strike  the 
names  of  foreigners  from  their  ward  tickets.2  The  same 
notice  nominated  Stephen  Reed  for  mayor,  but  the  official 
canvass  of  votes  fails  to  mention  him.  The  nativists  were 
probably  yet  unorganized.  The  school  board  elections  of 
June,  1843,  showed  a  continued  use  of  union  tickets  whereon 
Whigs  and  Democrats  in  single  wards  could  co-operate 
against  Catholic  nominees. 

The  story  of  nativism  in  New  York  city  has  now  been 
brought  down  to  the  summer  of  1843,  when  a  new  political 
movement  began,  gaining  strength  from  past  experience  and 
new  conditions.  It  has  been  shown  that  nativism  in  New 
York  was  a  complex  sentiment  based  on  underlying  natural 
antipathies.  Whenever  this  sentiment  was  affronted  it  rose 
into  temporary  self-assertion,  but  it  found  great  difficulty 
in  creating  for  its  expression  a  political  organization  that 
could  endure.  Over  and  over  again  the  movement  was  ab- 


1  Argus ;  1842,  November  16.  »  Sun,  1843,  APril 


38  POLITICAL  NATIV1SM  [236 

sorbed  or  checked  by  the  timely  interposition  of  the  local 
leaders  of  the  Whig  Party.  The  constant  effort  of  nativism  to 
assert  itself  nevertheless  developed  the  ideas  for  which  it  stood 
into  definiteness,  and  taught  Whig  and  Democratic  voters  to 
co-operate  in  their  support.  By  its  failures  nativism  had  pre- 
pared the  way  for  a  real  Native  American  party. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   AMERICAN    REPUBLICANS,    1843-1847 

IN  the  summer  of  1843  the  voters  of  New  York  city  saw  the 
beginning  of  a  petty  movement  of  nativism  which  gave  no 
greater  promise  of  vitality  than  had  its  predecessors  in  the 
field,  but  which  nevertheless  was  destined  to  rise  within  two 
short  years  to  the  dignity  of  a  national  political  party.  The 
movement  originated  in  the  general  disgust  over  the  use  made 
of  political  patronage  by  the  local  Democratic  Party.  Political 
nativism  was  dead  in  the  spring  of  1843,  and  when  a  new  Dem- 
ocratic common  council  took  power  after  the  April  election 
it  showed  its  gratitude  for  foreign  support  by  unusual  favors 
in  the  way  of  market  licenses  and  petty  offices.  This  move 
created  discontent.1  Heretofore  the  markets  had  been  under 
American  control.  Now  the  American  meat-sellers  found 
themselves  provided  with  Irish  competitors  and  subject  to 
oversight  by  Irish  clerks,  weighers  and  watchmen.  Nativism 
at  once  sprang  into  new  life  in  the  markets. 

In  June  a  political  movement  began.  The  first  impulse 
toward  it,  so  a  later  story2  ran,  was  a  chance  meeting  of  men 
in  a  blacksmith-shop  and  a  comparison  of  grievances  that 
brought  about  an  agreement  to  organize.  The  association  of 
the  Eleventh  ward,  organized  June  13,  1843,  was  the  first  body 
to  be  formed  under  the  new  impulse,  but  it  soon  had  compan- 
ion associations  in  other  wards  of  the  city  and  on  July  I5th  a 
new  paper,  the  American  Citizen,  appeared 3  to  voice  the  new 
designs.  By  August  the  several  ward  bodies  had  chosen  del- 

1  Jour.  Commerce,  1843,  October  23;   Tribune,  1844,  April  15,  August  24. 
8  Carroll,  p.  264.  3  Tribune,  1843,  Juty  17- 

237]  39 


40  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [238 

egates  to  create  a  central  organization  for  the  movement.  This 
whole  process  of  development  is  an  interesting  example  o* 
American  political  work.  When  the  delegates  convened x  they 
adopted  the  name  of  American  Republican  Party  and  created 
a  partisan  machinery  which  was  copied  from  that  of  the  older 
parties.  The  control  of  the  movement  was  vested  in  a  general 
committee  composed  of  delegates  from  the  ward  associations. 
The  whole  plan  of  party  organization  was  embodied  in  a  writ- 
ten constitution  of  nineteen  articles.2  Partisan  constitutions 
of  the  written  sort  are  rare  in  American  politics.  This  partic- 
ular one  was  probably  formulated  to  secure  proper  powers  to 
the  general  committee.  On  August  26th  the  movement  an- 
nounced itself  by  an  address  to  the  voters. 

All  this  work  of  organization,  carried  on  quietly  as  it  was, 
attracted  so  little  attention  that  the  daily  press  gave  it  no 
notice.  The  movement  at  first  had  really  little  of  promise. 
Its  opportunity  came,  however,  in  October,  when  a  faction  of 
Democrats  opposed  to  Van  Buren's  leadership  lost  control  of 
their  party  conventions  and  became  openly  disaffected.3  The 
nativist  movement  soon  gained  new  members  and  experienced 
leaders.  There  began  a  rapid  growth  toward  importance, 
marked  interestingly  by  an  increase  of  the  nativist  press. 
Meanwhile,  the  older  parties  looked  on  doubtfully,  unable  to 
judge  from  which  of  the  greater  organizations  the  new  move- 
ment was  drawing  most  heavily.  As  a  rule  the  partisan  press 
of  the  city  preferred  to  say  very  little  either  in  approval  or  dis- 
approval of  the  movement  until  events  made  its  nature  clearer. 
The  nativism  of  the  American  Republicans  was  frank  and 
open.  The  party  was  very  popular  among  the  market-men. 
When  it  began  to  seek  candidates  it  settled  upon  a  pledge  to 
be  affirmed  by  each  nominee  who  might  be  chosen.  This 
pledge  4  bound  the  nominee  to  four  lines  of  effort  if  elected  to 

1  Citizen,  1844,  February  23. 

*  Full  text  in  Amer.  Republic.,  1844,  July  n. 

*  Herald,  1843,  October  4.  *  Jour.  Commerce,  1843,  October  23. 


239]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  4! 

office,  namely:  to  secure  a  law  requiring  twenty-one  years 
residence  for  voters,  to  repeal  the  New  York  city  school  law, 
to  oppose  selection  of  foreigners  for  office,  to  accept  no  nomi- 
nation from  any  other  party.  The  last  pledge  was  evidently 
intended  to  guard  the  movement  from  absorption  by  its  rivals. 
At  this  campaign  the  work  of  nativism  was  done  with  aid  of 
public  meetings  and  political  processions.  It  is  worth  while, 
perhaps  to  reproduce  one  of  the  party's  campaign  documents. 
It  is  the  report1  of  the  committee  on  resolutions  presented  at  a 
great  mass-meeting  in  November,  1843.  The  doctrines  ex- 
pressed in  it  are  substantially  the  same  as  those  which  after- 
ward were  put  forth  by  the  Know-Nothings. 

Your  Committee  would  respectfully  report  that  the  following  are  the  principles 
and  objects  of  the  American  Republican  Party  : 

First.  As  to  its  organization,  it  is  composed  of  members  of  both  the  political 
parties,  irrespective  of  mere  party  considerations. 

Second.  That  it  is  not  intended,  and  will  not  be  permitted,  to  discuss  the  merits 
of  any  of  the  candidates  for  the  Presidency,  and  that  with  president-making,  as  a 
party,  it  has  nothing  to  do.  On  the  contrary,  no  person,  by  voting  for  the  ticket 
offered  by  this  party,  is  required  or  expected  to  go  for  any  of  the  presidential  can- 
didates. 

Third.  That  as  a  party  it  will  discuss  fearlessly  the  acts  of  all  men  and  all  part- 
ies that  have  in  any  way  pursued  such  a  system  of  policy  as  is  deemed  to  be  sub 
versive  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  government  and  destructive  of  public 
or  private  morality. 

Fourth.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  party,  based  upon  what  appears  to  be  very 
alarming  fact,  papal  power  is  directly  opposed  in  its  end  and  aim  to  a  republican 
form  of  government,  inasmuch  as  the  papist  owes  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  a  power 
outside  of  our  government — that  is,  to  the  Pope  of  Rome — and  that  power  has 
been  exercised  in  this  city  to  such  an  extent  that  our  common  school  system,  by 
party  subserviency,  has  been  bartered  away  as  a  price  for  the  votes  of  the  organ- 
ized  followers  of  Bishop  Hughes. 

That  through  this  school  law  there  has  been  a  pre-conceived  determination,  fol- 
lowed up  by  an  actual  attempt  in  the  Fourth  Ward,  to  put  out  of  our  schools  the 
Protestant  Bible,  and  to  put  down  the  whole  Protestant  religion  as  being  sectarian. 

That  in  addition  to  this  the  large  majority  of  the  offices  in  this  city  are  in  the 
hands  and  under  the  control  of  this  dangerous  influence,  and  consequently  our  city 
government  in  its  detail  is  conducted  by  persons  many  of  whom  were  but  lately 
naturalized  ;  all  of  which  is  contrary  to  every  principle  of  justice  and  propriety, 

1  Jour.  Commerce,  1843,  November  4. 


42  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [240 

and  tends  to  the  destruction  of  our  schools,  our  religion,  and  our  form  of  govern- 
ment. 

That  from  the  vast  number  of  foreigners  who  are  constantly  coming  to  this 
country,  it  has  become  absolutely  necessary  to  fix  a  longer  period  of  residence  be- 
fore they  shall  be  permitted  to  vote  ;  that  it  is  not  intended  to  prevent  any  adopted 
citizen  from  voting  who  is  now  entitled  to  vote.  If  such  abuse  their  trusts,  it  is 
their  crime  and  our  misfortune.  All  such  are  citizens,  and  of  course  no  modifica- 
tion of  the  naturalization  laws  can  affect  them.  It  is  deemed  just  and  right  that 
those  foreigners  who  shall  come  here  at  a  future  period  shall  be  permitted  in  tak- 
ing the  oath  of  allegiance,  etc.,  to  hold  and  convey  real  estate,  and,  in  short,  be  cit- 
izens in  all  respects,  saving  and  excepting  the  right  of  voting,  and  for  this  they  shall 
remain  21  years.  In  this  it  is  supposed  every  correct  judging  adopted  citizen  wir 
cheerfully  concur,  as  the  only  object  proposed  by  it  is  that  those  who  were  not  born 
in  the  United  States,  or  who  do  not  speak  our  language,  or  who  do  not  read  and 
cannot  understand  our  laws  and  institutions,  should  not  control  by  their  votes  the 
action  of  our  government  until  they  can  vote  understandingly.  As  it  now  is,  those 
deluded  men  are,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  the  mere  instruments  and  dupes  of  de- 
signing politicians,  who  use  them  for  their  and  our  destruction. 

In  short,  that  in  permitting  the  present  connection  between  politics  and  religion 
and  the  constant  courting  and  buying  the  votes  of  these  men  to  settle  our  elections, 
our  city  taxes  have  unnecessarily  increased,  until  at  the  same  time  it  is  the  fruitful 
source  of  many  grades  of  crime.  To  bring  about  a  reform  in  these  enormous  and 
constantly  growing  abuses  is  the  sole  object  of  this  party.  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  cordially  approve  of  the  objects  proposed,  and  that  we  will 
sustain  the  ticket  nominated  for  this  purpose,  headed  Mangle  M.  Quackenboss  for 
Senator. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  a  repeal  of  the  present  school  law,  which  was 
forced  from  our  legislature  under  the  dictation  of  papal  influence.  And  that  both 
the  manner  in  which  this  law  was  passed  and  the  objects  intended  to  be  gained  by 
it,  should  meet  with  the  united  disapprobation  of  every  good  citizen. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  a  thorough  and  radical  reform  of  the  mon- 
strous abuses  that  have  obtained  in  our  city  government,  and  that  we  prefer  to 
have  our  offices  filled  by  American  born  citizens. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  a  modification  of  the  present  naturalization 
laws,  so  that  21  years  residence  shall  be  required  of  the  future  adopted  citizens 
before  giving  them  the  right  to  vote. 

Resolved,  That  in  every  particular,  and  throughout  all  time,  we  are  in  favor  of 
an  entire  separation  of  religion  and  politics,  and  that  we  will  put  down  the  attempt 
that  is  making  to  unite  them. 

JResoived,  That  we  call  upon  all  good  citizens  to  act  as  Americans,  and  to  save 
themselves,  their  families  and  their  country  from  impending  destruction. 

This  report,  besides  declaring  principles,  gives  a  fairly  good 
idea  of  the  sort  of  organization  which  the  nativists  were  trying 


24 1  ]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  43 

to  create.  It  was  to  be  local  in  aims,  leaving  its  members  to  1 
remain  Whigs  or  Democrats  on  national  issues.  A  feature  not 
noted  in  the  report  was  the  fixed  rule  adopted  by  the  new 
movement  of  distributing  all  nominations  and  appointments  on 
the  bi-partisan  principle.  In  October,  the  movement  took  the 
American  Citizen  to  be  its  official  organ.1  Daniel  F.  Tiemann, 
as  chairman  of  the  city  committee,  was  official  head  of  the 
organization.2  Skillfully  guided  by  experienced  politicians, 
the  movement  met  extraordinary  success  in  organizing  voters. 
The  result  was  unexpected  and  startling  to  the  managers  of 
the  older  parties.  Its  ticket,3  though  largely  made  up  of  new 
men,  polled  a  splendid  vote.  Said  the  New  York  Tribune  some 
months  later,  "  The  election  came  on,  and  to  our  utter  amaze- 
ment, this  new  party,  which  we  supposed  limited  to  a  few  dis- 
appointed office-seekers  and  their  personal  friends,  polled  8,500 
votes  out  of  a  moderate  aggregate  poll." 4  The  actual  party 
averages 5  were  as  follows  : 

Democratic  Party about  14,410  votes. 

Whig  Party      about  14,000  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    8,690  votes. 

Walsh  Democrats about       320  votes. 

Anti-slavery  movement about         70  votes. 

V       -1 

The  movement  did  not,  of  course,  elect  any  of  its  nominees, 
but  the  casting  of  such  a  large  vote  was  a  triumph  in  itself. 
The  sudden  rise  of  organized  nativism  was  a  general  surprise. 
It  was  a  phenomenal  thing  for  a  political  movement  to  spring 
from  nowhere  and  in  five  short  months  to  build  up  party  ma- 
chinery that  could  organize  voters  by  thousands.  It  was  evi- 

1  Jour.  Commerce,  1843,  November  3.  *  Ibid. 

8  Senator,  Mangle  M.  Quackenboss ;  Sheriff,  Charles  Henry  Hall ;  Clerk, 
Horace  Loofborrow ;  Coroner,  James  C.  Forrester ;  Assemblymen,  William  Tay- 
lor, Charles  B.  Childs,  John  Culver,  Thomas  H.  Oakley,  Uzziah  Wenman, 
Charles  Alden,  Richard  Reed,  Valentine  Silcocks,  Jesse  C.  Wood,  Jacob  L.  Fenn, 
Philo  L.  Mills,  John  B.  Haring,  Andrew  McGown. 

4  Tribune,  1844,  August  24.  5  Jour.  Commerce,  1843,  November  22. 


44  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [242 

dent  that  its  issues  were  viewed  with  responsive  interest  among 
the  native  voters  of  the  city.  In  its  personnel  the  movement 
was  bi-partisan.  It  had  apparently  drawn  upon  the  strength  of 
the  Democracy  somewhat  more  heavily  than  upon  that  of*  the 
Whigs,  but  it  left  the  relative  positions  of  the  two  old  parties 
the  same  as  before  its  advent.  A  little  more  growth  would 
i  give  it  control  of  the  city.  The  Whig  editor  of  the  Tribune 
discussed  the  significance  of  the  phenomenon.  He  was  an 
uncompromising  foe  to  anything  that  looked  like  political  or 
social  discrimination  against  the  foreign  element,  but  he  ad- 
mitted that  there  were  real  grievances  to  be  redressed.  As 
such  he  cited  the  naturalization  frauds,  the  appeals  to  the  Irish 
and  German  vote,  the  violence  done  by  foreigners  at  the  polls 
and  the  greediness  of  foreigners  for  office.1  These  had  stirred 
nativism  into  life. 

The  managers  of  the  new  American  Republican  organization 
did  not  permit  it  to  lapse  into  apathy  after  the  fall  election.  They 
proposed  to  contest  the  city  election  of  the  following  spring. 
The  city  com  mittee  was  renewed,  Alexander  Copeland  being 
made  chairman  and  as  such  being  official  head  of  the  move- 
ment. The  ward  associations  were  spurred  into  new  activity 
and  used  to  circulate  petitions  for  naturalization  reform.  Stim- 
ulated by  this  enthusiasm  the  movement  spread  beyond  the 
state.  Before  the  close  of  1843  it  was  established  in  New  Jer- 
sey and,  early  in  1844,  in  Pennsylvania.2  In  preparation  for 
the  city  election  of  1844  a  new  issue  was  taken  up.  Reform 
was  needed  in  the  city  administration  at  this  particular  time. 
Charges  of  extravagance,  carelessness  and  inefficiency  made 
against  Democratic  officials  were  generally  believed  true.  It 
was  a  taking  issue  for  the  nativist  leaders  and  lay  ready  to 
their  hand.  When  the  nativists  began  to  nominate  ward 
tickets  they  accordingly  pledged  their  nominees  to  both  of 
their  issues.s  Each  nominee  promised  specifically  to  appoint 

1  Tribune,  1844,  January  II. 

2  Citizen,  1844,  February  2.  8  Tribune,  1844,  April  4. 


243]  TI1E  AA1ER2CAN  REPUBLICANS  45 

no  foreigner  to  office,  to  make  city  appointments  on  a  bi-par- 
tisan  plan,  to  reform  the  police  system  and  to  reduce  city  ex- 
penses. The  cry  for  city  reform  was  made  very  prominent. 
The  leaders  had  difficulty  in  settling  on  a  mayoralty  candidate 
who  would  be  acceptable  to  all  the  diverse  elements  of  their 
movement,  but  the  mayoralty  convention  held  repeated  sessions 
on  the  matter  and  finally  made  a  fortunate  choice.  On  March 
1 1 ,  1 844,  James  Harper  was  nominated.  He  was  a  well-known 
business  man,  resident  in  the  city  for  over  thirty  years,  Amer- 
ican by  birth  and  descent,  and  interested  in  popular  reforms 
generally.  Though  nominally  a  Whig  he  had  not  been  closely 
enough  connected  with  party  to  be  objectionable  to  Demo- 
cratic nativists.  A  mass-convention  promptly  ratified  the  nom- 
ination. With  this  act  the  period  of  campaign  preparation 
gave  way  to  that  of  campaign  work. 

To  those  who  guided  their  votes  by  the  issues  of  the  hour 
the  prospect  of  nativism  and  reform  in  the  city  government 
gave  promise  of  lighter  taxes  and  better  government.  Har- 
per's candidacy  took  well  with  such  voters.  Another  source 
of  strength  was  its  pledge  of  bi-partisan  appointments  to  office. 
Party  workers  on  the  Whig  side  could  readily  see  a  better 
prospect  for  themselves  in  the  new  party  than  in  the  old,  and 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  Morris  Franklin,  the  Whig 
nominee,  to  induce  his  withdrawal  from  the  contest.1  Against 
this  was  exerted  the  influence  of  Seward  and  other  leaders  of 
the  Whig  state  organization.  The  politics  of  presidential  am- 
bitions touched  here  upon  the  local  issues  of  New  York  city. 
Among  the  state  leaders  of  the  Whigs  were  those  who  favored 
the  ambitions  of  Henry  Clay  and  who  realized  that  an  openly 
shown  weakness  of  the  Whig  organization  in  New  York  city 
would  be  used  as  an  argument  by  those  opposed  to  the  nomi- 
nation of  Clay  for  president.2  The  situation  was  an  interesting 
evidence  of  the  solidarity  of  American  politics.  A  compromise 
was  eventually  reached  between  the  city  politicians  and  those 

1  Tribune,  1844,  April  5.  2  Argus,  1844,  April  10. 


46  POLITICAL  NAT2VISM  [244 

of  the  state  that  made  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  The  Whig 
nominee  remained  before  the  people  with  the  Whig  organiza- 
tion nominally  at  his  back.  Coincidently  the  Whig  press, 
either  openly  or  tacitly,  favored  Harper's  candidacy.  This 
arrangement  secured  success  for  the  nativist  nominee.  The 
opposition  of  the  Democracy  to  Harper  was  vigorous.  The 
need  of  city  reform  was  candidly  admitted  by  the  party  and 
promise  of  amendment  made,  but  to  nativism  there  was  less 
concession.  The  foreign  element  was  irritated  by  the  enmity 
shown  against  it.  Occasional  petty  street-fights  took  place 
between  natives  and  Irish,  and  threats  were  made.  Just  before 
election  the  nativist  city  committee  thought  best  to  advise  its 
voters  to  be  unaggressive  but  yet  "  to  maintain  their  legal 
rights  at  all  hazards."  *  By  good  fortune,  however,  the  day 
passed  without  riot.  The  following  vote  was  polled : a 

Nativist  movement about  24,510  votes. 

Democratic  Party about  20,540  votes. 

Whig  Party about    5,300  votes. 

The  nativists  elected  their  mayor  and  the  greater  part  of 
each  branch  of  the  Common  Council.  For  the  coming  year 
they  would  have  entire  control  of  the  city  government.  Their 
victory  could  not  be  questioned.  The  sources  of  the  vote  for 
Harper  were  discussed  by  party  men  with  interest.  An  esti- 
mate by  one  of  the  daily  papers  figured  its  components  at 
14,100  Whigs,  9,700  Democrats  and  600  new  voters.3  The 
estimate  was  probably  a  fair  one.  A  Democratic  paper  added 
the  significant  information  that  every  Englishman  and  every 
Orangeman  of  the  city  voted  the  nativist  ticket.4 

Hardly  had  nativism  in  New  York  city  reaped  the  fruits  of 
its  own  good  professions,  when  its  prestige  was  rudely  shaken 
by  events  in  another  state.  The  American  Republican  move- 
ment had  taken  root  at  Philadelphia  and  had  grown  on  the 

1  Citizen,  1844,  April  6.  2  Amer.  Repub.,  1844,  April  26. 

3  Jour.  Commerce,  1844,  April  12.  *  Plebeian,  1844,  April. 


245] 


THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS 


usual  racial  antipathies.  Early  in  May,  1844,  the  entire  coun- 
try was  shocked  by  news  from  the  latter  city  that  Americans 
and  Irish  had  come  into  conflict,  that  Americans  had  been 
murdered,  and  that  a  frenzied  mob  had  hunted  Irishmen  by 
the  light  of  burning  homes  and  churches.  A  wave  of  excite- 
ment swept  over  New  York  city,  where  foreigners  and  natives 
eyed  each  other  with  open  and  intense  distrust.  Mutterings 
of  riot  voiced  themselves.  The  conservative  leaders  hastily 
took  the  initiative  in  action.  The  nativist  organization  started 
a  committee  for  Philadelphia,  and  called  upon  its  voters  to  be 
calm  until  the  truth  were  known.  Bishop  Hughes  exerted  his 
authority  to  quell  the  restless  Irish.  Mayor  Harper  arranged 
for  suppression  of  riot  at  its  first  appearance.  In  a  few  days 
the  crisis  was  past  and  the  public  settled  down  with  evident 
relief.  The  Philadelphia  riots  nevertheless  lost  much  sympa- 
thy to  the  cause  of  nativism  and  their  occurrence  was  deeply 
regretted.  So  far  as  the  repute  of  local  nativism  was  concerned, 
its  leaders  had  no  cause  for  shame.  The  men  whom  the  new 
movement  carried  into  office  were  honest  and  sincere.  The 
pledges  of  nativism  were  carried  out,  and  foreigners  disappeared 
from  the  city  pay-rolls  along  with  the  politicians  who  had  put 
them  there. 

The  nativist  movement  had  by  this  time  extended  itself 
into  the  rural  counties  near  New  York  city,  more  especially 
those  where  the  foreign  element  had  found  a  lodgment. 
Aided  by  disaffected  politicians  and  stimulated  by  nativist  and 
anti-Catholic  literature  the  movement  was  quite  promising. 
By  March,  1844,  it  existed  in  nearly  all  the  south-eastern 
counties  and  at  Albany  as  well.  In  Brooklyn  the  nativists  nom- 
inated a  mayor  and  polled  twenty-  six  per  cent,  of  the  total  vote. 
In  Ulster  county  there  was  a  nativist  paper.  It  was  all  in 
natural  sequence,  then,  when  the  general  committee  of  New 
York  city  issued  a  call  on  June  2ist  for  a  state  convention 
of  nativist  delegates.1  The  plans  of  the  nativist  leaders 

1  Amtr.  Re  pub.,  iP44,  June  26. 


48  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [246 

had  now  assumed  a  wider  scope.  They  would  create  a 
state  organization.  The  relation  of  their  action  to  the 
presidential  campaign  is,  unfortunately,  not  at  all  clear.  The 
city  committee  at  New  York,  once  committed  to  the  policy  of 
a  state  party,  made  earnest  efforts  to  carry  it  out.  In  August 
it  sent  out  official  organizers  into  the  counties.  There  were 
protests  made  to  it  against  nominations  for  Congress  on  the 
ground  that  nativist  nominees  could  not  preserve  that  neutral- 
ity on  national  issues  which  the  organization  had  thus  far 
maintained.1  All  arguments  were  overruled.  The  first  nativ- 
ist state  convention  met  at  Utica  on  September  10,  1844,  in 
response  to  the  committee's  call.2  The  great  question  which 
filled  the  time  of  this  body  was  that  of  naming  an  American 
Republican  state  ticket.  The  idea  had  its  friends  and  its 
opponents,  both  eagerly  interested.  At  the  session  of  Septem- 
ber loth  the  question  was  deferred  to  a  later  convention  at 
New  York  city  on  September  23d  and  on  the  latter  date 
nominations  were  defeated.3  Reports  of  the  convention  ses- 
sions say  nothing  of  the  appointment  of  a  state  committee. 
The  effort  in  1844  to  expand  political  nativism  into  a  state 
party  was  only  a  partial  success.  In  Kings  and  Richmond 
counties  there  seem  to  have  been  nativist  county  organiza- 
tions. In  Ulster  county  there  was  one  which  absorbed  the 
Whig  Party  entirely.4  Yet,  taken  all  in  all,  the  expansion 
movement  up  to  the  November  election  had  the  aspect  of  a 
failure. 

In  New  York  city  the  political  work  of  1844  was  more  suc- 
cessful. Out  in  the  state  at  large  political  nativism  was  a 
mirage,  but  in  the  metropolis  it  was  a  concrete  fact.  The  effect 
of  Harper's  election  in  April,  1844,  by  a  combination  of  nativ- 
ists  and  Whigs,  had  been  to  resurrect  the  old  alliance  which 
had  proven  fatal  to  nativism  in  the  movement  of  1835.  The 
affinity  between  the  local  nativist  movement  and  the  local 

lAmer.  Repub.,  1844,  August  9.  ^  Amer.  Repub.,  1844,  September. 

8  Ibid.  *  Tribune,  1844,  November  13. 


247]  THE  AMERICAJ*  REPUBLICANS  49 

Whig  Party  again  stood  revealed  as  the  presidential  campaign 
of  1844  began.  The  state  leaders  of  the  Whig  Party  had  no 
approval  for  nativism.  Seward  vigorously  denounced  the 
movement  by  speech  and  letter.  Despite  all  this,  there  was  a 
drawing  together  of  interests  in  the  city.  In  September  a  new 
general  committee  took  control  of  the  American  Republican 
movement  and  John  Lloyd  was  chosen  to  succeed  Copeland 
as  official  head  of  the  party.1  The  regular  conventions  were 
duly  held  and  nominations  made.2  Behind  this  routine  of 
party  work  the  secret  work  of  political  intrigue  went  on.  The 
Whig  organization  also  made  its  customary  nominations,  but 
its  leaders  joined  in  negotiations  with  the  nativists,  of  which 
the  end  was  an  understanding  that  the  Whig  managers  should 
throw  Whig  support  to  the  nativist  local  ticket,  while  the 
nativist  managers  should  aid  the  Clay  presidential  ticket.3  The 
agreement  was  at  once  made  apparent  by  the  action  of  the 
Whig  press.  All  the  Whig  papers,  with  one  exception,  lent 
friendly  aid  to  the  nativist  canvass  henceforth.  The  Demo- 
cratic press  was  quick  to  make  capital  of  the  new  alliance.  In 
New  York  city  the  Democratic  nativists  were  ceaselessly  told 
that  the  American  Republican  movement  was  a  Whig  annex, 
from  which  all  real  Democrats  should  break  loose.  In  the 
interior  counties  the  foreign-born  Whigs  were  assured  that  the 
Whig  Party  had  adopted  nativism  and  was  secretly  their  en- 
emy.4 Those  Whigs  whose  interests  were  linked  with  those 
of  Seward  and  Weed,  chafed  under  the  infliction,  but  condi- 
tions could  not  be  changed  in  New  York  city.  The  terms  of 
alliance  must  be  carried  out.  Nativism,  in  its  part,  went  on  its 
way  happily.  At  mass-meeting  and  in  party  press  the  now 

1  Amer,  Repub.,  1844,  September  21. 

2  Senator,  George   Folsom;  Assemblymen,  Abraham  G.  Thompson,  Jr.,    Tohn 
Culver,  James  Jarvis,  William  S.  Ross,  Severn  D.  Moulton,  Eli  C.  Blake,  Harvey 
Hunt,   Thomas   H.  Oakley,  Jacob   L.  Fenn,  David   E.  Wheeler,  Frederick  E, 
Mather,  Roderick  N.  Morrison,  John  J.  R.  Depuy. 

8  Tribune,  1846,  August  27. 

4  Tribune,  1844,  November  II ;   1846,  October  10. 


50  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [348 

familiar  anti-foreign  and  anti-Catholic  arguments  were  urged 
upon  the  people  with  a  careful  avoidance  of  national  issues.1 
The  work  of  political  nativism  was  becoming  systematic.  The 
movement  was  now  conscious  of  holding  strength. 

The  agreement  between  political  leaders  in  regard  to  the 
presidential  vote  in  the  metropolis  was  carried  out  by  the  man- 
agers of  nativism  so  far  as  they  were  able,  but  the  movement 
was  not  wholly  under  their  personal  control.  The  Democratic 
wing  of  the  organization  had  no  friendship  for  Henry  Clay. 
As  election  approached  there  were  hints  of  action  by  the 
friends  of  Polk  and  hints  were  translated  into  actuality  by  a 
mass  meeting  of  Democratic  nativists,  on  October  3ist,  to 
endorse  Folk's  candidacy  against  Clay.2  Eventually  the  day 
of  election  came.  The  Whig  city  committee,  faithful  to  its 
bargain,  printed  nativist  ballots  and  distributed  them  to  Whig 
voters  through  the  regular  party  workers  at  the  polls.3  Every- 
where in  the  city  the  WThig  strength  went  to  aid  the  American 
Republican  nominees.  Horace  Greeley  of  the  Tribune,  though 
an  avowed  and  steadfast  enemy  to  nativism,  cast  a  nativist 
ballot  as  evidence  of  his  loyalty  to  party  policy.  The  hopes 
of  Whigs  for  Clay's  success  were  blasted,  however,  when  the 
returns  from  the  state  came  in.  New  York  state  had  gone 
Democratic.  In  New  York  city,  where  the  WThig  and  nativist 
alliance  had  done  its  work,  the  votes  of  Whigs  had  carried  the 
nativist  local  ticket  to  victory,  but  2000  Democratic  nativists 
had  voted  for  Polk,  and  carried  the  city  for  him  against  the 
Clay  ticket.  The  party  averages  on  assembly  ticket  were  as 
follows :  * 

Nativist  movement about  27,440  votes. 

Democratic  Party about  26,230  votes. 

Whig  Party about       950  votes. 

Agrarian  movement 5 about         90  votes. 

Anti-slavery  movement about         70  votes. 

1  Official  Address  in  Amer.  Repub.,  18.14,  September  6. 

*Jour.  Commerce,  1844,  November   I.       *  Tribune,  1846,  April  6,  August  27. 

*  Tribune,  1844,  November  25. 


249]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  5  z 

Nativism  was  gaining  new  force  with  each  successive  elec- 
tion. Its  vote  was  greater  at  this  occasion  than  it  had  ever 
been  before.  A  state  senator  and  fifteen  assemblymen  would 
represent  nativisin  in  the  next  state  legislature,  and  four  con- 
gressmen would  present  its  issues  before  the  next  Congress,  all 
as  a  result  of  the  campaign  of  1844.  Usually  in  a  presidential 
year  it  was  the  fate  of  lesser  political  organizations  to  be 
crushed  between  the  two  great  national  parties,  but  the  Amer- 
ican Republican  movement  had  reaped  only  profit  from  ad- 
verse conditions. 

If  the  result  of  the  campaign  was  pleasant  to  nativist  leaders 
it  was  the  exact  reverse  to  the  Whig  managers.  In  city  and 
in  state  the  campaign  was  a  Whig  disaster.  In  New  York, 
Kings  and  Ulster  counties  the  party  had  been  absorbed  by  the 
organized  movement  of  nativism.  All  over  the  state  as  soon 
as  the  pressure  of  presidential  politics  was  removed  there  were 
evidences  of  Whig  friendliness  for  nativism.  Whig  papers  in 
Albany,  Rochester  and  Buffalo  commented  with  favor  upon  it. 
These  hints  of  approval  came  more  especially,  perhaps,  from 
that  element  of  the  party  which  opposed  the  political  leader- 
ship of  Seward  and  Weed.1  Upon  the  surface  of  affairs  it 
looked  for  a  time  as  if  the  Whig  Party  in  New  York  state 
would  be  weakened  by  a  wholesale  secession  from  its  ranks 
toward  the  new  American  Republican  Party.2  The  Seward 
wing  of  the  party  now  made  an  onslaught  against  the  hostile 
influence.  The  popularity  of  Henry  Clay  made  his  loss  of 
New  York  state  by  a  small  margin  a  source  of  chagrin  for  the 
Whig  masses,  for  the  vote  of  New  York  would  have  been  de- 
cisive. It  was  possible  to  ascribe  this  loss  with  equal  plausi- 
bility either  to  the  anti-slavery  movement  in  the  counties  or  to 
the  nativist  movement  in  the  metropolis.  The  Seward  men 
preferred  to  ascribe  it  to  the  latter,  and  the  New  York  Tribune 
explained  to  its  readers  that  the  Whig  Party  had  lost  most  se- 

1  Argus,  1844,  December  20. 

2  Argus,  1844,  November  30. 


52  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [250 

verely  in  those  localities  where  the  foreign  element  had  gath- 
ered, and  where  foreign-born  Whigs  had  been  frightened  away 
from  Clay  by  the  fear  of  nativism.1  It  was  only  grudgingly 
acknowledged  that  the  Clay  ticket  gained  heavily  in  New  York 
city  as  a  result  of  nativist  aid."  When  opportunity  permitted, 
the  attack  upon  nativism  took  another  form.  The  Whig  city 
committee  at  New  York  was  usually  renewed  at  the  beginning 
of  each  year.  In  the  primaries  after  the  presidential  election 
the  Seward  men  secured  control  of  the  city  committee,  and  the 
machinery  of  the  party  was,  from  that  time  on,  used  to  crush 
out  political  nativism.  The  organization  of  the  Whig  com- 
mittee for  1845  was  the  turning-point  in  the  fortunes  of 
the  nativist  party  in  New  York  state.  On  February  1 1,  1845, 
there  was  issued  a  declaration  of  policy  by  the  Whig  com- 
mittee.3 Of  the  fifteen  resolutions,  nearly  half  were  more  or 
less  in  condemnation  of  the  policy  of  alliance  which  previous 
city  committees  had  followed.  The  new  committee  declared 
emphatically  that  it  recognized  no  distinctions  between  citi- 
zens on  the  score  of  religious  faith  or  place  of  nativity.  The 
committee's  declaration  was  a  formal  notice  to  the  public  that 
the  old  alliance  was  broken,  and  that  the  erstwhile  allies 
would  henceforth  go  their  separate  ways. 

The  American  Republican  organization  now  faced  a  contest 
where  it  must  rely  upon  itself  alone.  The  elections  of  April, 
1845,  would  be  a  test  of  its  ability  to  control  the  city  by  un- 
aided effort.  The  outlook  was  by  no  means  discouraging. 
Nativism  had  made  a  record  of  honest  city  government.  It 
had  control  of  the  city  patronage,  and  it  was  backed  by  a  vig- 
orous anti-foreign  sentiment.  The  local  Whig  Party  was 
divided,  and  a  goodly  portion  of  it,  which  was  nativist  in  sym- 
pathies, could  be  relied  upon  to  support  nativist  nominees. 
The  organ  of  the  Whig  city  committee  was  the  Tribune.  In 
its  columns  Whigs  were  urged  to  rally  round  the  party  name, 

1  Tribune,  1844,  November  n.  2  Tribune,  1846,  October  10. 

3  Tribune,  1845,  February  13. 


251]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  53 

regardless  of  the  question  of  success  at  the  polls.  The  local 
Whig  organization  took  its  position  most  frankly.  It  put  aside 
for  the  time  all  expectations  of  carrying  the  election,  in  order 
to  wage  a  desperate  struggle  for  continued  existence  as  a 
party.  It  was  willing  to  put  the  Democracy  in  control  rather 
than  see  the  city  patronage  go  to  the  nativists  for  another  year.1 
In  the  party  convention  the  anti-nativist  managers  had  to 
struggle  to  maintain  their  policy,  but  they  succeeded.  The 
re-nomination  of  Harper  for  the  mayoralty  by  the  nativists  on 
February  i8th  preceded  the  Whig  city  convention,  and  when 
the  latter  body  met  there  was  a  strong  feeling  for  the  endorse- 
ment of  Harper's  candidacy.2  Such  action  would,  of  course, 
have  revived  the  old  alliance  which  the  Seward  men  had 
broken.  The  effort  was  foiled,  and  Dudley  Selden  was  set  up 
as  the  regular  nominee  of  the  party.  The  Whig  organization 
went  before  the  people  with  a  nominee  whom  it  could  not 
elect,  and  with  no  motive  except  that  of  giving  a  death-blow 
to  political  nativism.  The  action  was  followed  by  open  dis- 
affection on  the  part  of  the  minority  faction. 

The  city  campaign,  as  might  be  expected,  was  a  warmly 
contested  battle.  Several  of  the  Whig  newspapers  bolted  the 
regular  nominee  and  declared  for  Harper.  It  was  not  for- 
gotten that  Selden  was  very  recently  a  professed  Democrat, 
while  Harper  had  been  a  life-long  Whig.  The  columns  01 
the  Tribune  went  straight  to  the  point  of  the  real  issue.  All 
over  the  state,  they  said,  the  local  leaders  of  the  Whig  Party 
were  watching  the  fight,  and  the  continuance  of  the  party  in 
the  state  would  hinge  on  the  result  in  New  York  city .3  The 
Whig  members  of  the  legislature,  it  was  said  at  another 
time,  "  deeply  feel  that  the  overthrow  of  the  native  party  is 
essential  to  a  renewal  of  the  struggle  for  Whig  ascendency  in 
our  state  with  any  hope  of  success."  4  A  great  deal  was  said 
during  the  city  campaign  in  regard  to  the  success  of  nativist 

1  Tribune,  1845,  February  18.  J  Post,  1845,  February  22. 

8  Tribune,  1845,  March  15.  *  Tribune,  1845,  March  31. 


54  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

efforts  at  economy  in  city  administration,  but  the  real  question 
of  the  day  was  the  ability  of  political  nativism  to  resist  the 
crushing  attack  which  was  being  made  upon  it  by  both  of  the 
older  parties.  The  April  election  finally  ended  the  contest. 
The  vote  stood  as  follows : x 

Democratic  Party about  24,210  votes. 

Nativist  movement about  17,480  votes. 

Whig  Party about    7,030  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about        120  votes. 

Anti  slavery  movement about         70  votes. 

The  Democracy  elected  the  mayor  and  common  council. 
The  Whigs  secured  some  seats  in  the  common  council.  The 
nativists  succeeded  in  electing,  out  of  the  whole  array  of  city 
and  ward  nominations,  only  one  man,  a  ward  constable.2  It 
was  as  complete  an  overthrow  as  the  most  bitter  Whig  could 
have  hoped.  At  the  same  time  the  size  of  the  nativist  vote 
showed  that  its  defeat  was  by  no  means  conclusive.  The 
movement  had  received  a  set-back,  but  it  was  not  crushed. 

While  the  nativist  leaders  in  New  York  city  had  been 
carrying  on  their  local  campaign  they  were  also  connecting 
themselves  with  efforts  to  organize  a  national  political  party 
devoted  to  the  nativist  issue.  The  American  Republican 
movement,  after  spreading  into  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania, 
had  assumed  in  those  states  the  name  of  Native  American 
Party.  During  1844  the  movement  spread  from  New  York 
into  South  Carolina,3  Massachusetts4  and  Connecticut,  while 
from  Philadelphia  it  spread  into  Delaware,  Maryland  and 
some  of  the  states  farther  west.  By  the  end  of  1844  an  agita- 
tion had  begun  for  a  national  convention  and  in  time  one  was 
called  to  meet  at  Philadelphia  on  July  4,  1845.  In  April, 
1845,  the  nativists  estimated  their  own  strength  to  include 
48,000  in  New  York,  42,000  in  Pennsylvania,  14,000  in  Massa- 

1  Valentine  Manual,  1845-46. 

8  Courier -Enquirer,  1845,  April  9. 

3  Amer.  Repub.,  1844,  June  7,  July  13.  *  Ibid. 


253]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  55 

chusetts,  3,000  in  New  Jersey,  1,000  in  Delaware  and  2,000  in 
other  states,  making  a  total  of  1 10,000  votes.1  Its  strength  in 
New  York  state  was  reckoned  at  18,000  in  the  city  and  30,000 
outside  the  city.  The  American  Republican  associations  of 
New  York  city  viewed  the  new  idea  of  national  organization 
with  approval,  notwithstanding  that  it  ran  counter  to  their 
previous  plan  of  avoiding  national  issues.  In  June,  1845,  dele- 
gates were  chosen  to  the  national  n<eeting  at  Philadelphia. 
The  existence  of  the  national  Native  American  Party  began 
with  the  convention  of  July  4,  1845.  There  were  present  141 
delegates,  representing  fourteen  states.2  One  of  the  vice- 
presidents,  Loring  D.  Chapin,  and  two  of  its  secretaries,  were 
taken  from  the  New  York  delegation.  It  was  the  hope  of  the 
New  York  men  to  fix  upon  the  new  party  the  name  of  Ameri- 
can Republican,  under  which  the  nativist  movement  still 
worked  in  New  York  state ;  but  they  were  outvoted  by  those 
states  where  the  name  of  Native  American  was  in  use.3  Be- 
sides adopting  a  name  for  the  new  national  party,  the  Philadel- 
phia convention  issued  a  platform  and  address.  The  question 
of  a  presidential  ticket  was  also  discussed  at  the  session. 
Altogether  the  Philadelphia  gathering  evolved  an  ambitious 
programme  for  the  new  party.  Though  now  very  weak  in- 
deed as  a  party,  yet  only  a  span  of  two  years  lay  between  the 
gossip  of  the  smithy,  where  the  movement  started,  and  the  con- 
vention work  of  1845.  Two  years  more  might  bring  an  equal 
advance.  The  work  of  the  convention  was  promptly  ratified 
by  the  New  York  nativists  at  a  mass-convention  of  July  18, 
1845.*  In  giving  its  adhesion  to  the  national  party,  the  New 
York  organization  was  obliged  to  assume  the  new  party  name, 
but  some  of  the  ward  associations  kept  the  old  name  of  Ameri- 
can Republicans. 

1  Quoted  from  Philadelphia  Sun  by  Roch.  Arner.,  1845,  April  26. 

*  Convention  accounts  in  Orr,  also  Lee,  also  Jour.  Commerce,  1845,  July  7. 

*  Argus,  1845,  July  9. 

*  Jour.  Commerce,  1845,  Juty  19- 


56  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [254 

It  was  in  New  York  city  alone  that  political  nativism  could 
really  pose  as  a  leading  issue,  and  here,  as  the  fall  election  of 
1845  came  on,  its  leaders  again  prepared  to  contest  the  field 
with  the  older  parties.  They  had  suffered  a  blow  by  the 
drawing  away  of  Whig  support,  but  their  heavy  vote  at  the 
spring  election  in  the  very  face  of  that  withdrawal  was  an  evi- 
dence of  endurance  fit  to  base  strong  hopes  upon.  Late  in 
September  the  nativists  held  their  usual  conventions  to  place 
nominees  in  the  field.  The  new  general  committee  chose  Wil- 
liam L.  Prall  as  chairman.  On  the  Whig  side  a  harmonizing 
of  the  local  factions  brought  all  the  Whig  press  back  to  the 
support  of  the  regular  ticket,  restoring  the  apparent  unity  of 
the  party.  Then  followed  a  quiet  but  active  effort  on  both 
sides  to  secure  for  nativist  nominees J  the  vacillating  vote  of 
Whigs  who  sympathized  with  nativism.  Just  before  election 
a  temperance  ticket  appeared,  made  up  of  Whig  and  nativist 
nominees.  It  was  said  to  be  a  device  to  meet  the  needs  of 
those  whose  sympathies  were  divided,2  but  if  so  it  found  little 
favor.  In  general,  the  line  of  separation  between  Whig  and 
nativist  forces  was  well-defined.  Partisan  Whigs  turned  back 
to  the  regular  organization  and  left  nativism  to  its  own  natural 
strength.  The  party  averages  on  the  assembly  ticket  were  as 
follows :  3 

Democratic  Party about  16,550  votes. 

Whig  Party about  11,280  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    8,750  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about       530  votes. 

Temperance  movement about       320  votes. 

Anti-slavery  movement about        ?     votes.* 

1  Senator,  Elias  H.  Ely ;  Register,  Joseph  Hufty ;  Assemblymen,  William  S. 
Ross,  James  Stokes,  Abraham  G.  Thompson,  Jr.,  Thomas  H.  Oakley,  Harvey 
Hunt,  Nehemiah  Miller,  William  Marks,  John  A.  King,  Alonzo  A.  Alvord,  Harris 
Wilson,  Henry  Meigs,  Alfred  S.  Livingston,  Peter  Doig. 

3  Herald,  1845,  November  4.  *  Tribune,  1845,  November  7. 

*The  anti-slavery  men  had  a  ticket  before  the  people  but  their  small  vote  was 
ignored  by  the  press  reports  of  election. 


255]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  57 

The  election  showed  the  important  fact  that  the  actual 
strength  of  nativism  in  the  past  two  years  had  not  been  gain- 
ing. Its  apparent  gains  had  been  caused  by  the  aid  of  voters 
whose  attachment  to  the  Whig  Party  could  not  be  made  sec- 
ondary. The  election  cast  a  shadow  over  the  movement. 
From  this  time  onward  the  nativist  party  in  New  York  was 
recognized  as  on  the  wane. 

In  due  time  the  spring  campaign  of  1846  came.  The  na- 
tivist mayoralty  convention  offered  their  nomination  to  Robert 
Taylor,  who  refused  it.1  Thereupon  a  small  section  of  the 
party  split  off  as  a  city-reform  movement 2  and  obtained  an 
acceptance  from  Taylor.  Behind  this  affair  can  be  dimly  seen 
the  features  of  a  scheme  to  combine  again  the  issues  of  reform 
and  nativism  as  had  been  done  in  1844.  Had  the  nativists 
followed  with  an  endorsement  of  Taylor,  the  plan  might  have 
had  a  trial,  but  the  nativist  leaders  negatived  it  by  announcing 
a  distinct  ticket,  with  William  B.  Cozzens  for  mayor.s  At  the 
city  convention  this  year  the  usual  long  party  platform  did  not 
appear.  The  resolutions  as  adopted  merely  approved  the  idea 
of  municipal  reform  and  declared  the  motive  of  the  nomina- 
tions.4 On  this  latter  point  the  resolution  was  significant : 

Resolved,  That  we  are  further  impelled  to  place  our  candidates  before  the  peo- 
ple by  a  desire  to  preserve  our  distinct  political  organization,  conscious  that  we 
look  in  vain  to  the  old  parties  for  any  effective  aid  in  carrying  out  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  the  Native  American  Party.  It  becomes  our  duty  to  present  ourselves  at 
every  election  before  the  people,  confident  that  in  the  frequent  discussion  of  our 
principles,  which  are  eternal  as  Truth  itself,  the  truth  will  ultimately  prevail. 

This  resolution  was  an  acknowledgment  that  nativism  was 
no  longer  a  political  power.  Those  who  believed  in  its  prin- 
ciples, nevertheless,  voted  its  ticket  at  the  regular  election. 
The  city- reform  group  which  had  split  off  from  the  party  to 
nominate  Taylor  was  absorbed  by  the  Whig  Party  when  the 

1  Herald,  1846,  April  13.  3  Herald,  1846,  March  23. 

3  Mayor,  William  B.  Cozzens  ;  Almshouse  Comm'r,  Abraham  B.  Rich. 
*  Herald,  1846,  March  27. 


58  POLITICAL  NAT IV ISM 

Whig  convention  took  Taylor  as  its  nominee.     The  party  vote 
on  the  mayoralty  was  as  follows : 

Democratic  Party about  22,240  votes. 

Whig  Party about  15,260  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    8,370  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about        7 10  votes. 

The  next  trial  of  nativism  was  at  the  election  held  in  May, 
1846,  to  choose  delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention  for 
the  state.  Each  political  organization  of  the  day  had  its  pet 
schemes  of  reform  to  be  advanced,  and  the  nativist  organiza- 
tion with  the  rest.  The  Native  Americans  nominated  a  full 
ticket  of  delegates,1  and  four  of  its  nominees  were  taken  up  by 
the  Whigs.  At  the  election  a  very  light  vote  was  cast,  and  the 
Democracy  was  able  to  carry  the  field.  The  only  result  of 
the  election,  for  nativism,  was  a  further  exposure  of  its  growing 
weakness.  The  averages  on  the  various  tickets  were  as  fol- 
lows : 2 

Democratic  Party about  17,630  votes. 

Whig  Party about    8,6 10  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    4,600  votes. 

Independent  movement about    1,480  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about       700  votes. 

Anti-slavery  movement about         ?     votes. 

The  decline  of  the  Native  American  Party  in  New  York  was 
probably  retarded  by  the  knowledge  that  the  party  was  acquir- 
ing a  strong  position  in  Pennsylvania,  where  it  had  developed 
a  state  organization.  Encouraged  possibly  by  this,  the  nativ- 
ists  of  New  York  also  endeavored  in  1846  to  create  a  state  or- 
ganization. The  city  committee  of  New  York  led  the  work  by 
calling  a  state  convention,3  and  sending  an  organizer  into 

1  Delegates :  Ogden  Edwards,  Shepherd  Knapp,  Hiram  Ketchum,  Elias  H. 
Ely,  John  Leveridge,  Lora  Nash,  David  E.  Wheeler,  Burtis  Skidmore,  Harris 
Wilson,  William  L.  Prall,  John  Lloyd,  Jacob  Townsend,  Nicholas  Schureman, 
Minard  Lefevre,  William  S.  Ross,  William  Pratt. 

8  Tribune,  1846,  May  II. 

1  Poughkeepsie  Amer.,  1846,  February  14. 


257]  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICANS  $g 

the  counties.  On  August  19,  1846,  delegates  from  a  number 
of  points  in  the  state  met  at  Utica  to  organize  the  convention.1 
This  was  the  year  for  election  of  a  governor.  The  convention 
accordingly  nominated  a  state  ticket  and  created  a  state  com- 
mittee. The  head  of  their  ticket  was  Edward  C.  Delevan,  of 
Saratoga,  who  was  widely  known  for  his  temperance  views, 
but  had  not  been  identified  with  the  nativist  movement.  Del- 
evan declined  the  place,2  and  the  nativist  ticket  remained  head- 
less until  early  in  October,  when  the  state  committee  filled  the 
vacancy.  In  its  final  form  the  state  ticket  of  1846  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

Governor Ogden  Edwards  of  Kings. 

Lieut.-Governor George  Folsom  of  New  York. 

Canal  Commiss'r Robert  C.  Russell  of  Albany. 

Canal  Commiss'r James  Silsbee  of  Steuben. 

The  executive  work  of  the  campaign  fell  into  the  control  of 
the  new  state  committee,  composed  as  follows : 3  William  L. 
Prall,  Lora  Nash,  Minard  Lefevre,  Andrew  Thompson,  Calvin 
Pollard,  all  of  New  York ;  Robert  H.  Shannon  and  Daniel 
Talmage,  of  Kings  ;  Jacob  Y.  Lansing  and  Robert  C.  Russell, 
of  Albany ;  Henry  I.  Seaman,  of  Richmond ;  Edward  Prime, 
of  Westchester ;  Albert  G.  Travis,  of  Putnam ;  Augustus  T. 
Cowman,  of  Dutchess ;  J.  Young,  of  Ulster ;  Andrew  Hanna, 
of  Oneida.  The  effort  of  the  Native  Americans  to  pose  as 
a  state  party  was  so  futile  that  they  received  very  little  atten- 
tion in  the  campaign.  Their  strength  lay  almost  entirely  in 
New  York,  Kings  and  Dutchess,  and  even  here  they  could 
do  little  beyond  announce  themselves.  The  entire  vote  on  the  / 
state  ticket  in  the  fall  of  1846  was  less  than  two  per  cent,  of 
the  state  aggregate.  It  averaged  6170  votes.* 

1  Poughkeepsie  Amer.,  1846,  August  29. 
8  Tribune,  1846,  August  26. 
8  Poughkeepsie  Amer.,  1846,  September  12. 
*  Tribune,  1846,  December  5. 


60  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  ^58 

In  New  York  city  the  regular  fall  campaign  for  the  Native 
American  ticket l  brought  dissension  and  cross-purposes 
among  the  leaders.  An  arrangement  was  made  to  exchange 
support  with  the  Whigs  on  certain  offices,  but  an  outcry 
against  it  upset  the  arrangement  after  it  had  been  completed.1 
Even  those  who  had  so  far  remained  faithful  to  the  movement 
dropped  away  when  charges  of  double-dealing  became  rife. 
The  poll  at  the  November  election  showed  a  serious  loss  of 
strength.  Following  were  the  averages  : 3 

Democratic  Party about  20,970  votes. 

Whig  Party about  18,270  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    4,210  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about       210  votes. 

Anti-slavery  movement about       ?       votes. 

The  nativist  party  was  now  near  its  end.  As  the  spring 
election  of  1847  drew  near  the  party  made  its  last  stand.  In 
March  a  city  convention  named  a  ticket.4  In  several  wards 
there  were  also  nativist  nominees  to  the  common  council.  The 
April  election  resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Whig  city  ticket 
by  a  narrow  plurality,  and  it  was  claimed  with  apparent  truth 
that  the  victory  was  owed  partly  to  nativist  votes.5  Whig 
support  of  nativist  ward  tickets  had  been  accepted  in  exchange 
for  nativist  support  of  the  Whig  city  ticket.  In  actual  num- 
bers the  Native  Americans  were  still  dwindling.  The  poll  on 
the  mayoralty  in  April,  1847,  was  as  follows  : 

Whig  Party about  21,310  votes. 

Democratic  Party about  19,680  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    2,080  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about       300  votes. 

1  Sheriff,  Charles  Devoe ;  Clerk,  Willis  Hall ;  Coroner,  John  B.  Helme ;  As- 
semblymen :  Uzziah  Wenman,  Thomas  H.  Oakley,  Joseph  W.  Kellogg,  Edward 
Prince,  William  S.  Ross,  James  B.  Demarest,  Thomas  R.  Whitney,  Edward  A. 
Frazer,  Cornwell  S.  Roe,  Philip  Jordan,  John  D.  Westlake,  William  R.  Taylor, 
Charles  E.  Freeman,  Joel  Kelly,  Benjamin  Sherwood,  Charles  Roberts. 

8  Tribune,  1846,  November  3.  *  Tribune,  1846,  November  24. 

4  Mayor,  Elias  G.  Drake ;  Almshouse  Comm'r,  John  Lloyd. 

*  Her  aid,  1847,  APril  l8- 


259]  THE  A  ME  RICA  N  REP  UBL  1C  A  NS  6  r 

After  the  election  the  organized  nativist  party  went  out  of 
existence  in  New  York.  The  general  city  committee  existed 
as  late  as  September  13,  1847,  still  headed  by  William  L.  Prall.1 
In  the  natural  course  of  events  a  new  committee  would  have 
been  formed  at  this  time,  but  probably  none  was  named.  The 
official  organ  of  the  movement  announced  its  own  death  in 
September.  Before  the  organization  had  passed  away  its  lead- 
ers had  opportunity  to  take  part  in  the  second  national  con- 
vention of  political  nativism.  That  body  met  first  on  May  4, 
1847,  at  Pittsburgh  and  soon  adjourned  to  a  second  session  on 
September  loth  at  Philadelphia.  Of  the  eleven  state  delega- 
tions which  appeared  the  largest  was  that  of  New  York  with  its 
thirty-nine  members.  The  work  of  the  convention  consisted  in 
making  a  platform  and  recommending  names  for  the  national 
offices.  It  so  recommended  Zachary  Taylor  for  the  presidency 
and  Henry  Dearborn  for  the  vice-presidency,  but  its  work 
ended  there.  It  did  not  organize  a  separate  national  campaign. 

In  New  York  state  the  American  Republican  or  Native 
American  movement  cannot  be  called  at  all  successful.2  Such 
triumphs  as  it  won  in  the  chief  city  were  built  on  the  votes  of 
men  who  were  not  nativists  in  sympathy.  Unimportant  in 
itself  as  it  is,  the  movement  of  1843-47  is  yet  to  be  noticed  as 
preparing  the  way  for  the  rise  of  the  nativist  secret  societies 
by  diffusing  nativist  feeling  through  the  community.  It  de- 
veloped also  a  political  precedent  for  the  more  successful 
movement  of  a  few  years  later.  Before  political  nativism 
reached  its  passing  eclipse  in  1847  the  Order  of  United  Amer- 
icans, with  2000  members  claimed,  was  on  the  scene  as  a  social 
force  with  political  leanings.  It  was  the  mission  of  this  Order 
to  shelter  the  upgrowth  of  the  mysterious  society  of  the  Know- 
Nothings  and  to  carry  nativism  in  New  York  over  the  gap 
that  lay  between  the  eclipse  of  effort  in  1847  an<3  the  revival  of 
effort  in  1852. 

1  Gazette-Times,  1847,  September  13. 

•General  sketches  of  this  movement  are  in  Herald,  1854,  May  29,  June  20. 


CHAPTER  III 

RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES,    1844-1852 

THE  collapse  of  the  Native  American  movement,  in  the  fall 
of  1847,  left  open  the  field  to  the  efforts  of  a  new  sort  of  organ- 
ization, the  nativist  secret  society,  the  first  appearance  of  which 
had  come  in  1844.  There  were  at  this  time  a  considerable 
number  of  secret  societies  of  various  natures  existing  in  New 
York  state.  They  were  voluntary  associations,  whose  mem- 
bers were  bound  together  by  oaths  of  secrecy  and  brotherhood 
and  whose  proceedings  were  dignified  by  formal  set  cere- 
monies. Earlier  in  the  century,  during  the  anti-masonic 
movement,  public  opinion  had  turned  against  secret  associa- 
tions and  nearly  crushed  them  out  of  existence,  but  as  the 
years  went  by  there  was  a  gradual  revival  of  their  prestige. 
Oddfellowship  and  freemasonry  regained  importance  and  the 
tentative  experiments  toward  new  societies  brought  the  Red 
Men  and  Good  Fellows  into  existence.  From  England  came 
also  the  Druids  and  the  Foresters.  These  earlier  secret  socie- 
ties were  mainly  benevolent  associations,  but  in  the  decade  of 
the  forties,  as  the  American  genius  for  organization  asserted 
itself  on  this  new  field,  the  social  movements  of  the  time  began 
to  model  new  secret  societies  after  those  already  established 
and  to  use  them  for  purposes  of  agitation.  It  had  become 
recognized  by  this  time  that  the  charm  of  secrecy  and  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  lodge-room  could  lend  new  strength  to  any  or- 
ganization which  might  seek  their  aid.  The  temperance  move- 
ment was  the  first  to  take  up  this  idea,  and  there  were  founded 
several  societies,  using  the  familiar  machinery  of  the  older 
fraternities  but  devoted  to  the  inculcation  of  hostility  to  liquor- 
62  [260 


26 1 ]  RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES  63 

drinking.  The  nativist  sentiment  seems  to  have  been  second 
to  seize  upon  secret  society  methods,  and  it,  too,  was  shortly 
embodied  in  a  number  of  organizations,  separate  in  identity 
but  with  the  common  idea  of  hostility  to  foreign  influence. 
After  nativism,  other  social  ideas  took  up  the  secret  society 
model,  bringing  a  swarm  of  new  associations  before  the  public 
eye.  There  was  nothing  abnormal,  then,  in  the  mere  fact  that 
secret  societies  came  into  existence  with  nativist  principles  at 
their  basis.  After  a  time,  nevertheless,  the  nativist  societies 
developed  a  feature  which  their  older  models  had  not  ventured 
upon.  They  began  to  use  their  secret  machinery  to  organize 
political  effort.  This  might  fairly  be  called  an  abnormal  step. 
None  of  the  other  secret  organizations  had  pretended  to  do 
more  than  agitate  and  mould  public  opinion,  but  nativist  bodies 
advanced  to  the  point  of  marshaling  voters  in  support  of  the 
ideas  for  which  the  societies  were  working.  This  was  not 
intended  by  the  founders  of  that  society  which  first  developed 
the  system,  but  the  peculiar  semi-political  character  of  nativ- 
ism itself  brought  about  the  change.  Point  by  point  the  evo- 
lution of  secret  political  work  may  be  traced  in  the  history  of 
the  two  great  secret  organizations,  which  were  types  of  politi- 
cal nativism  in  action.  The  earlier  of  the  two  was  the  Order 
of  United  Americans,  which  created  the  system  of  secret  poli- 
tics. The  second  was  the  so-called  Know-Nothing  Order, 
which  took  up  and  further  developed  the  system  into  a  great 
national  organization.  Not  all  the  nativist  societies  were  polit- 
ical in  action,  however.  Several  held  themselves  strictly  to  the 
mere  inculcation  of  principles.  The  importance  of  these  non- 
political  bodies  in  relation  to  political  nativism  lies  in  the  fact 
that  they  helped  to  shape  that  sentiment  which  turned  to  poli- 
tics as  a  mode  of  making  its  ideas  felt  in  the  community.  The 
lessons  heard  in  the  lodge-room  were  remembered  at  the  polls. 
The  growth  of  nativism,  in  the  city  of  New  York  especially, 
during  the  rise  of  the  Know-Nothing  movement,  cannot  be 
properly  understood  without  reference  to  the  existence  and 
workings  of  these  secret  bodies,  political  and  non-political. 


64  POLITICAL  N A 'IT' ISM  [262 

The  Native  Sons  of  America  seems  to  have  been  the  first  of 
the  nativist  social  societies  in  New  York  state,  but  it  may  not 
have  been  a  secret  one.  It  was  organized  in  New  York  city, 
December  18,  1844,  with  James  Webb  as  president.1  There 
appears  to  be  no  further  reference  to  it  in  the  press  and  it  was 
probably  short-lived. 

The  American  Brotherhood  was  organized 2  in  New  York 
city  on  December  21,  1844.  Its  founder  was  Russell  C. 
Root.  The  annals  of  the  society  tell  of  an  informal  meeting 
for  discussion  on  December  i6th  and  of  a  formal  one  for 
organization  on  December  2ist.  Of  the  thirteen  or  fourteen 
men  who  did  the  work  nearly  all  had  taken  some  part  in 
American  Republican  politics.  The  new  society  therefore 
took  its  impulse  from  the  political  nativism  of  1844  and  in- 
herited some  of  its  traditions.  On  December  28th,  when 
officers  were  installed,  John  Harper  became  official  head  of 
the  society.  A  week  later  the  name  of  the  society  was 
changed  to  that  of  the  Order  of  United  Americans,  and  as 
such  its  growth  went  on.  The  character  of  the  Brotherhood 
may  be  seen  from  its  formal  resolution  of  organization,  worded 
as  follows : 3 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  form  themselves  into  an  association  to  be  called 
the  American  Brotherhood,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  aid  and  assistance,  and  to 
oppose  foreign  influence  in  our  institutions  or  government  in  any  shape  in  which 
it  may  be  presented  to  us. 

The  United  Daughters  of  America  was  a  patriotic  society  of 
women  which  was  organized  in  New  York  city  on  November 
27,  1845.4  Nominally  it  was  independent  of  other  societies, 
but  in  effect  it  was  an  auxiliary  to  the  Order  of  United  Amer- 
icans. It  could  not,  of  course,  be  political,  but  it  may  be 
reckoned  as  one  of  the  aids  in  the  maintenance  of  nativist 
sentiment.  At  its  best  period  it  included  about  ten  chapters 

1  Amer.  Repub.,  1844,  December  20. 

1  O.  U.  A.,  1848,  November  18 ;  also  Whitney,  p.  261 ;   also  Carroll,  p.  252. 

»  Baldwin  Coll.  *  Ibid. 


263]  X1SE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES  65 

organized  under  the  supervision  of  a  grand-chancery.  When 
the  failure  of  the  nativist  political  movement  in  1857  brought 
a  reaction  against  nativist  societies  this  one  suffered,  but  a 
nominal  existence  of  its  grand-chancery  was  kept  as  late  as 
1861.' 

The  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics  originated  in 
Pennsylvania  and  was  at  first  a  benefit  society  for  working- 
men.  Introduced  into  New  York  state  by  the  creation  of  a 
council  in  Brooklyn  on  July  8,  1848,*  it  slowly  extended  to 
other  cities.  The  organization  of  a  state-council  followed  and 
under  its  supervision  the  number  of  councils  in  the  state  rose 
to  about  thirty.  Few  of  these  were  in  the  metropolis.  The 
strength  of  the  society  lay  chiefly  in  the  towns  of  the  Hudson 
valley  where  the  nativist  political  movement  had  prepared  the 
way  for  it.  Membership  was  restricted  to  Americans-born 
and  the  conditions  of  the  time  brought  it  into  the  current  of 
nativist  feeling.  It  was  never,  perhaps,  engaged  in  political 
effort,  but  its  teachings  lay  in  the  direction  of  maintaining 
American  traditions  and  its  councils  were  accustomed  to  ap- 
pear on  public  occasions  in  company  with  bodies  of  more 
pronounced  nativist  aims.  With  the  downfall  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  movement  the  society  lost  its  strength  and  its  state- 
council  disbanded.  In  later  years  it  again  secured  a  foothold 
and  still  exists. 

The  Order  of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner  was  founded  3  in 
New  York  city  in  the  spring  of  1850,  but  it  may  possibly  not 
have  borne  this  name  in  its  earlier  years.  It  seems  also  to- 

1  N.  Y.  City  Directory,  1861. 

*  Date  supplied  by  State  Secretary. 

3  On  the  origin  of  the  society  the  best  account  seems  to  be  in  N.  Y,  Herald,. 
1854,  December  20,  p.  i;  See  also  Whitney,  p.  280.  Various  other  accounts, . 
unreliable  as  a  whole,  yet  give  additional  facts,  e.  g.,  N.  Y.  Tribune,  1855,  May 
29,  p.  5.  Allen  is  referred  to  as  founder  in  A".  Y.  Tribune,  1854,  November  27,. 
p.  4,  and  in  N.  Y.  Times,  1855,  May  29,  p.  I,  October  18,  p.  8.  For  scr tiered, 
facts,  see  N.  Y.  Times,  1854,  October  10,  p.  2;  N.  Y.  Tribune,  1855,  June  4»'P~ 
5 ;  N.  Y.  Herald,  1855,  July  29,  p.  4;  Carroll,  p.  267. 


66  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [264 

have  taken  to  itself  the  name  of  Order  of  the  Sons  of  the  Sires 
of  '76.  Its  founder  was  Charles  B.  Allen,  of  whom,  since  he 
was  not  in  politics,  the  contemporary  press  says  little  in  per- 
sonal reference.  Drawing  together  a  few  friends  he  organized 
them  under  a  pledge  of  secrecy  into  a  nativist  society.  A 
journeyman  printer,  William  L.  Bradbury,  was  first  president 
of  the  group,  but  died  in  office  after  a  few  months.  The 
founder  himself  then  became  official  head.  In  its  aims  the  new 
organization  was  wholly  political  and  in  its  principles  strongly 
nativist.  Its  policy  was  to  influence  local  politics  by  concerted 
action  of  its  members  in  favor  of  such  nominees  as  might  be 
selected  from  the  tickets  of  political  parties,  such  nominees 
being  Protestant  and  American-born.  Along  this  line  the  little 
group  acted  at  successive  elections,  but  so  small  was  its  mem- 
bership that  its  influence  was  unnoticeable.  The  business  ses- 
sions of  the  society  were  held  here  and  there  at  the  homes  of 
its  members  during  this  period.  It  seems  to  have  lacked  en- 
ergetic management  and  its  membership  was  almost  stationary. 
For  two  years,  nevertheless,  it  kept  a  feeble  existence.  In 
1852  a  few  active  spirits  from  the  Order  of  United  Americans 
found  their  way  into  the  society.  At  the  time  of  their  advent 
it  had  only  forty-three  members  all  told,  still  meeting  as  a  single 
body.1  There  seems  now  to  have  been  a  revolution  within  the 
society  the  details  of  which  are  unrecorded.  The  society  was 
reorganized,  the  founder  was  displaced  and  new  men  took  con- 
trol.2 The  new  president  was  an  energetic  nativist  who  had 
formerly  been  a  Methodist  preacher.  This  reorganization 
probably  occurred  April  4,  1852.3  Under  the  new  leaders  the 
society  began  to  expand.  As  its  membership  grew  larger  the 
meetings  in  private  houses  ceased  and  sessions  were  held  in- 

1  Whitney,  p.  280. 

*  These  changes  are  very  obscure.     See  h'erald,  1854,  December  20,  p.  I; 
Tribune,  1855,  May  29,  p.  5,  also  Carroll,  p.  269. 

•Whitney,  p.  284. 


265]  RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES  6/ 

stead  in  various  lodge-rooms  hired  for  the  purpose  when 
needed.  The  society  was  divided  up  into  several  ward- 
councils  or  wigwams  under  the  supervision  of  the  eldest  body, 
the  president  of  which  was  ex-officio  head  of  the  whole  society. 
There  was  disapproval,  however,  of  the  control  of  the  men  who 
had  grasped  power.  Disaffection  showed  itself  and  culminated 
in  a  secession,  either  in  1852  or  1853,  of  a  minority  group  led 
by  Allen,  the  founder.1  The  malcontents  formed  a  grand 
council  of  their  own  and  made  a  new  ritual  of  three  degrees. 
The  society  thus  broke  into  two  parts  each  one  claiming  iden- 
tity with  the  original  unity.  All  this  time  its  existence  was 
unknown  to  the  general  public.  During  1852  the  society  was 
rapidly  recruited  in  membership.  The  politically-inclined  ele- 
ment of  the  Order  of  United  Americans  was  especially  attracted 
to  it.  Its  councils  grew  so  large  in  some  wards  that  meetings 
had  to  be  held  in  large  halls,  but  the  element  of  deepest  secrecy 
was  carefully  preserved.  Its  members  did  not  speak  of  its  ex- 
istence to  those  not  initiated.  The  society  probably  co-oper- 
ated with  the  Order  of  United  Americans  in  the  political  ef- 
forts of  the  fall  of  1852.  In  the  fall  of  1853  it  was  able  to 
make  a  still  more  decided  stand  in  politics,  and  then  for  the 
first  time  its  existence  began  to  be  generally  known.  In  de- 
fault of  a  better  name  it  was  dubbed  the  "  Know-Nothing 
Order "  by  an  interested  public,  and  under  that  name  the 
Order  of  the  Star- Spangled  Banner  thenceforth  pursued  its 
career. 

The  Order  of  Sons  of  America  was  organized  in  Philadel- 
phia late  in  1844  an<3  had  a  history  in  Pennsylvania  much  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Order  of  United  Americans  in  New  York 
state.  Several  efforts  were  made  to  secure  a  union  of  the  two 
orders.  One  of  these  went  so  far  as  to  organize  a  camp  of  the 
Sons  of  America  in  New  York  city  in  1852  under  the  auspices 

1  Herald,  1854,  December  20,  p.  I  ;  1855,  July  29,  p.  4;  also  Tribune,  1855, 
May  29,  p.  5,  June  4,  p.  5 ;  also  Carroll,  p.  269. 


68  POLITJCAL  NATIVISM  [266 

of  the  United  Americans.1  This  body  was  kept  alive  at 
least  two  years2  but  the  contemplated  union  did  not  come 
about  and  the  camp  was  allowed  to  die. 

The  Benevolent  Order  of  Bereans,  unlike  the  preceding  so- 
cieties, was  made  up  largely  of  foreign-born  citizens.  Refer- 
ence has  been  made  to  the  antipathy  that  existed  between. 
Protestant  and  Catholic  Irishmen.  The  former  were  usually 
called  "  Orangemen,"  although  the  Orange  Institution  was  not 
then  organized  in  America.  The  Berean  Order  drew  its  mem- 
bership from  this  class.3  It  was  organized  in  New  York  city 
in  1844  or  1845  in  bodies  called  assemblies  which  were  fede- 
rated under  a  grand  council.  The  anti- Catholic  ideas  of  the 
order  made  its  members  earnest  allies  of  nativism  despite  their 
foreign  birth,  and  they  became  strong  upholders  of  American 
ideas.  In  1853  the  order  had  at  least  eight  assemblies,4  but  in 
1854  it  disappeared  and  was  probably  absorbed  by  the  Amer- 
ican Protestant  Association. 

The  American  Protestant  Association  was  founded  in  Penn- 
sylvania as  a  secret  beneficial  society,  and  became  established 
in  New—York  by  1850.  Its  membership  was  very  largely 
Protestant  Irish,5  and  they  were  enthusiastic  supporters  of 
nativism,  although  not  using  their  secret  machinery  for  politi- 
cal work.  The  society  was  secret,  with  ritual  and  grand  lodge 
organization.  The  New  York  grand  lodge  was  organized  in 
1853  by  tne  mne  lodges  then  existing.6  In  the  fall  of  1854,  it 
claimed  nineteen  lodges  with  2,800  members,7  and  by  1855, 
there  were  about  thirty  lodges,  mostly  in  New  York  city  and 
Brooklyn.  The  names  of  "  Washington,"  "Jefferson,"  "  Bun- 
ker Hill  "  and  "  Valley  Forge  "  are  typical  names  borne  by  the 
lodges  and  are  significant  of  their  attitude  toward  American 
ideas.  Like  other  societies,  the  Association  lost  heavily  after 

1  Baldwin  Coll.  z  N.  Y.  Directory,  1854. 

3  Baldwin  Coll.  *N.  Y.  Directory,  1853. 

5  Herald,  1855,  July  24,  p.  I.  6  Times,  1853,  May  31,  p.  i. 

7  Courier- Enquirer,  1854,  November  2,  p.  2. 


267]  RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES  69 

1856  by  the  collapse  of  the  nativist  party,  but  it  kept  an  exist- 
ence in  New  York  city  for  over  thirty  years  before  the  last  of 
its  lodges  died  out. 

The  Order  of  United  Americans,  derived  from  the  American 
Brotherhood,  was  in  no  respect  later  in  date  than  those  here 
listed,  but  its  story  is  taken  up  last  because  it  was  the  most 
important  of  the  nativist  societies  until  it  was  overshadowed 
by  the  still  greater  importance  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order. 
In  many  respects  it  was  a  model  on  which  the  Know-Nothing 
society  was  built  up  and  the  source  from  which  the  Know- 
Nothing  society  drew  its  best  recruits.  Its  history  is  very 
different,  however,  from  that  of  the  latter  organization.  The 
United  American  society  was  not  primarily  political  in  charac- 
ter. It  aimed  more  at  social  prestige  and  its  political  work 
was  a  side-issue  forced  upon  the  Order  by  the  conditions  which 
it  met.  The  main  features  of  the  Order  were  not  political. 
When  the  little  society  of  the  American  Brotherhood  first 
assumed  its  new  name,  on  January  4,  1845,  ^ts  members  had 
an  ambitious  dream  of  a  great  secret  federation.  On  January 
27th  they  declared  their  little  group  to  be  Alpha  Chapter  No. 
i,  and  also  declared  themselves  to  be  the  Arch-Chancery  or 
governing  body  of  the  Order.1  Their  plan  contemplated  an 
evolution  into  a  general  system  of  organized  groups.  Each 
group  was  to  be  called  a  chapter  and  was  to  have  its  own  con- 
stitution and  self-chosen  officers.  The  chapters  in  each  state 
were  to  be  federated  under  the  supervision  of  a  grand-body 
called  Arch-Chancery,  composed  of  delegates  from  the  chap- 
ters. The  several  arch-chanceries  were  to  be  federated  under 
one  Grand-Arch-Chancery  with  a  jurisdiction  of  national  ex- 
tent.2 This  dream  began  at  once  to  take  shape  in  reality. 
The  leaders  of  the  new  society  were  in  part  nativist  political 
workers  who  knew  how  to  build  up  organizations.  A  second 
chapter  was  formed  on  March  3 1st,  under  the  auspices  of 
Arch-Chancery,  and  others  followed  until,  on  September  8th, 
1  O.  U.  A.,  1848,  November  18. 


70 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


there  were  five  chapters,  whose  delegates  met  to  organize 
Arch-  Chancery  in  new  form  and  do  away  with  the  temporary 
expedient  of  putting  power  in  the  hands  of  the  members  of  the 
eldest  chapter.1  As  re-organized,  Arch-Chancery  consisted  of 
three  delegates,  called  chancellors,  from  each  chapter.  This 
body  elected  its  own  officers,  of  which  the  chief  one  was  the 
grand-sachem.  This  was  a  distinct  land-mark  in  the  growth 
of  the  society. 

The  organization  was  usually  known  from  its  initials  as 
"  the  O.  U.  A.,"  conveniently  abbreviating  its  somewhat  clumsy 
name.  It  was  a  social  and  beneficial  society  devoted  to  Amer- 
ican traditions,  but  with  no  pledges  or  program  of  political 
conduct.2  Its  constitution  was  an  open  one,3  and  there  was  no 
concealment  of  its  aims  or  membership.  Its  secrecy  covered 
only  the  signs  and  ceremonies  connected  with  its  work.  It 
very  closely  resembled  other  secret  societies  of  its  day.  The 
chapters  worked  under  officers  whose  titles  were  borrowed 
from  aboriginal  Americans,  the  presiding  officer  of  the  chapter, 
for  instance,  being  the  sachem.  There  was  a  uniform  ritual 
for  all  chapters,  but  there  were  no  ritualistic  degrees  among  the 
membership.  The  lighter  side  of  chapter  work  was  that  of 
sociability.  The  business  side  of  the  work  was  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  sick-benefit  system,  and  the  support  of  American 
ideas.  On  public  occasions  the  chapters  were  accustomed  to 
parade.  The  Order  made  its  first  public  appearance  in  this 
way  at  the  Washington-monument  celebration  in  October, 
1847,  and  its  second  one  at  the  Adams  funeral  in  March,  1848. 
These  appearances  were  intended  to  advertise  the  American- 
ism of  the  society.  Beginning  on  July  4,  1848,  the  O.  U.  A. 
also  annually  celebrated  the  recurring  holidays  of  July  4th  and 
February  22d.  This  was  a  custom  formerly  kept  up  by  the 
nativist  political  clubs  of  the  American  Republican  movement, 
but  when  that  movement  died  out  the  O.  U.  A.  constituted 

1  Baldwin  Coll. 

3  Gazette-Times,  1846,  December  I.         '  Republic,  1852,  August. 


269] 


RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES 


itself  heir  to  its  commemorative  duties.  The  O.  U.  A.  endeav- 
ored in  every  way  to  stamp  itself  with  the  mark  of  American 
ideas. 

Expansion  was  steady.  In  June,  1846,  a  chapter  was 
formed  in  Boston,1  making  the  first  step  toward  realizing  the 
dream  of  nationality  in  extent.  By  the  close  of  1846,  the 
Order  had  2OOO  members,2  and  through  1847  an^  1848  its 
growth  went  on.  In  New  York  city  it  grew  rapidly,  but  the 
rural  counties  were  slower  to  embrace  it.  It  was  a  novelty  in 
its  way  of  uniting  secrecy  and  patriotism.  Finally,  in  1848  a 
chapter  was  organized  at  Haverstraw,  and  then  the  conserva- 
tive interior  towns  gradually  took  it  up.  The  strength  of  the 
Order  in  New  York  state  was  never  very  great  in  the  country 
districts,  however.  In  the  way  of  national  expansion  the 
Order  found  its  way  into  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  in 
1848,  giving  it  four  states  to  its  credit. 

The  changes  of  expansion  brought  a  new  constitution  to 
the  Order  which  was  approved  by  the  grand  body  of  the  state 
on  November  13,  1848.3  Under  this  instrument  the  age  of 
admission  to  the  Order  was  fixed  at  eighteen  years.  The 
grand  body  of  the  state  was  given  the  new  name  of  Chancery 
and  was  to  hold  quarterly  meetings.  Its  machinery  was  also 
elaborated  by  the  recognition  of  an  executive  committee  oi 
which  much  will  be  said  later.  The  title  of  Arch-Chancery 
was  appropriated  to  the  national  governing  body  of  the  Order 
which  was  to  be  for  a  time  identical  in  personnel  with  the 
Chancery  of  New  York  state.  This  new  constitution  was 
promptly  put  into  effect.  Chancery  organized  and  assumed  a 
seal  with  the  suggestive  emblem  of  a  hand  throttling  a  writh- 
ing serpent.  Portions  of  its  regular  sessions  were  conducted 
under  the  forms  of  Arch-Chancery  work.4  The  grand  execu- 

1  O.  U.  A.,  1848,  December  9.  2  Gazette-Times,  1846,  November  21. 

3  O.  U.  A.,  1848,  November  18.     Full  text  in  Republic,  1852,  August. 
*  O.  U.  A.,  1848,  December  9. 


•J2  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

tive  committee  also  organized  under  the  new  constitution,  and 
this  body  deserves  careful  notice.  It  consisted  of  nine  mem- 
bers of  Chancery  and  was  to  care  for  such  matters  as  de- 
manded prompt  action  or  special  secrecy.  It  was  guardian  of 
the  executive  fund,  toward  which  each  chapter  paid  quarterly 
dues  for  each  member  in  good  standing.  In  important  mat- 
ters the  grand  executive  committee  was  empowered  to  call 
general  or  district  conventions  composed  of  the  executive 
committees  of  chapters.  This  system  of  executive  committees 
and  conventions  was  only  an  expedient  at  its  first  inception, 
but  it  was  destined  to  take  upon  itself  new  significance  when 
politics  began  to  be  discussed  by  the  Order  and  to  play  a  con- 
siderable part  in  the  work  of  political  nativism. 

Step  by  step  the  evolution  of  political  work  in  the  O.  U.  A. 
can  be  followed  by  reference  to  the  proceedings  of  the  grand 
executive  committee.1  It  began  its  official  record  late  in  1849 
with  the  coming  of  a  new  Chancery.  This  was  the  period 
when  the  O.  U.  A.  was  hardly  out  of  the  experimental  stage. 
Though  successful  thus  far  in  its  growth  the  Order  was  yet 
feeling  its  way  into  public  favor  with  hesitation.  The  work  of 
the  executive  committee  did  not  at  first  touch  upon  politics  in 
any  way.  Its  members  met  occasionally  and  usually  dis- 
cussed plans  for  extending  the  Order  into  other  states  and  for 
supporting  an  organ  of  the  Order.  During  1850,  however, 
the  committee  twice  took  action  which  trenched  upon  politics 
in  a  tentative  way.  When  the  year  opened  the  congressional 
struggle  over  the  slavery  issue  had  begun.  On  February  2d, 
Henry  Clay  wrote  to  his  Whig  friends  in  New  York  a  sug- 
gestion' for  a  "  Union  "  mass-meeting,2  and  the  idea  was  at 
once  taken  up  by  them.  On  February  I4th  the  grand  com- 
mittee voted  to  lend  its  aid. to  the  plan  and  its  members  ac- 
cordingly helped  personally  to  bring  about  the  Castle  Garden 

1  All  references  to  official  action  of  the  grand  executive  committee  or  the  Crand 
Executive  Convention  are  taken  from  their  minutes. 
*  Times,  1855,  November  28,  p.  2. 


271]  XISX  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES  73 

meeting  of  February  23d.  This  incident  was  much  magnified 
by  nativist  politicians  a  few  years  later  in  order  to  gain  credit 
for  the  O.  U.  A.1  The  second  quasi-political  move  of  the 
grand  committee  was  in  May,  1850.  A  referendum  had  been 
ordered  on  the  repeal  of  the  school  law  and  an  unofficial  con- 
vention for  debate  was  to  be  held  at  Syracuse  in  July.  The 
grand  committee  was  inclined  to  oppose  the  repeal,  but  de- 
cided to  consult  the  chapters.  For  this  purpose  the  first  of  a 
long  series  of  grand  executive  conventions  met  on  May  i/th, 
and  in  the  course  of  several  sessions  voted  to  uphold  the  old 
law  and  to  send  two  delegates  to  the  Syracuse  convention. 
In  an  entirely  harmless  and  innocent  way,  therefore,  the  grand 
committee  in  1850  began  the  making  of  precedents  for  secret 
political  action.  These  precedents  were  soon  followed  by  a 
remarkable  evolution  of  executive  organization.  In  February, 
1851,  the  Grand  Executive  Convention  adopted  rules  of  pro- 
cedure and  a  password.  Practically  it  erected  itself  by  this 
act  into  a  new  and  uncontemplated  governing  body  standing 
over  the  whole  Order  side  by  side  with  Chancery  itself.  The 
O.  U.  A.  executive  work  now  began  to  differentiate  from  the 
social  work  carried  on  under  the  direction  of  Chancery  and  to 
touch  hands  with  political  nativism. 

Putting  aside  for  the  moment  the  evolution  of  the  O.  U.  A. 
executive  system,  due  notice  may  be  given  to  the  steady  growth 
of  the  Order,  which  though  it  drew  its  beginning  from  the  po- 
litical nativism  of  1843-47  relied  for  its  support  upon  its  ability 
to  preach  patriotism  in  an  effective  and  enticing  manner  to  the 
community  at  large.  The  Order  was  not  affected  by  the  col- 
lapse of  the  political  party  in  1847.  It  went  on  to  form  chapter 
after  chapter  and  to  show  each  year  an  increasing  roll  of  mem- 
bership. Its  internal  history  during  the  period  from  1848^0 
1852  is  mainly  a  record  of  expansion.  In  1852  its  political 
work7  began  to  be  recognized  by  the  public  and  the  Order  at- 
tracted to  itself  more  attention  than  ever  before  by  the  rumors 

1  E.  g.,  Whitney,  p.  276. 


74  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

to  which  its  actions  gave  rise.  In  other  states  the  Order  was 
not  as  successful  as  in  New  York,  but  it  found  a  foothold  in 
one  commonwealth  after  another.  On  January  16,  1854,  a 
national  Arch-Chancery  was  organized  by  delegates  from  sev- 
eral states  and  the  New  York  Chancery  ceased  to  be  the  head 
of  the  Order.1  In  1854  the  Know-Nothing  society  in  New 
York  state  took  a  remarkable  bound  toward  ubiquity  and  the 
parent  society  of  the  O.  U.  A.  was  perforce  put  somewhat  into 
the  background.  It  did  not  suffer  by  the  fact,  however,  for 
the  rise  of  political  nativism  was  a  piece  of  good  fortune  to  be 
appreciated.  The  roll  of  membership  kept  on  growing  as  the 
nativist  political  movement  took  further  and  further  advances. 
By  the  end  of  1855  the  O.  U.  A.  was  at  the  height  of  its  good 
fortune.  The  ambitious  dream  of  its  founders  was  at  last 
realized.  Its  national  Arch-Chancery  exercised  jurisdiction  in 
sixteen  states.  In  the  state  of  New  York  a  roll  of  ninety  sub- 
ordinate chapters  with  thousands  of  members  attested  the  pop- 
ularity of  the  Order. 

With  the  year  1856  the  decadence  of  the  Order  began  as 
political  nativism  halted  in  its  steady  progress  toward  power. 
The  steady  loss  of  prestige  and  strength  by  the  Know- Nothing 
movement  brought  a  corresponding  change  in  the  conditions 
of  the  O.  U.  A.  The  membership  fell  off,  slowly  at  first,  but 
rapidly  as  the  reaction  of  public  opinion  against  nativism  grew 
more  apparent.  The  O.  U.  A.  has  left  but  slight  record  of  this 
decay.  In  September,  1857,  it  was  noted  that  not  half  the 
chapters  of  the  Order  had  sent  delegates  to  Chancery.1  Year 
by  year  its  membership  melted  away.  The  nativist  political 
movement  was  drawing  to  its  end,  and  so  thoroughly  had  the 
executive  system  of  the  O.  U.  A.  become  interlinked  with  it, 
that  the  brotherhood  was  being  dragged  down  with  the  dying 
nativist  party.  A  mere  shadow  of  its  former  strength,  the 
Order  lived  to  see  political  nativism  end.  In  October,  1861, 
the  grand  sachem  of  the  day  advised  a  reorganization  with  the 

1  Gildersleeve  Coll. 


273] 


RfSE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES 


admission  of  loyal  Protestant  foreigners  to  membership,1  but 
men's  thoughts  were  fixed  upon  the  great  problems  of  war- 
time, and  there  was  no  chance  for  recuperation.  By  the  month 
of  January,  1863,  the  whole  active  membership  in  New  York 
city  was  so  small,  that  it  could  have  met  in  one  room.1  Chap- 
ter after  chapter  went  to  pieces.  Chancery  maintained  itself 
in  life,  but  more  and  more  feebly,  until,  early  in  1866,  its 
formal  meetings  closed.2  The  chapters  also  passed  out  of  ex- 
istence, but  in  1877  some  veteran  members  reorganized  in  a 
social  club  with  the  old  name  of  Washington  Chapter, 
O.  U.  A. 

The  enumeration  of  the  various  secret  societies  of  New 
York  which  were  agents  in  building  up  nativism,  and  the  story 
of  their  rise  and  fall,  is  a  prelude  to  the  narrative  of  secret  po- 
litical nativism  itself.  Without  due  reference  to  the  existence, 
constitution  and  growth  of  these  organizations,  petty  as  most 
of  them  were,  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the  strength 
which  nativism  had  in  New  York  city  during  the  period  in 
which  the  Know-  Nothing  Order  rose  to  importance.  Every 
lodge  or  chapter  of  these  societies  was  a  center  and  source  of 
agitation  against  the  foreign  element  and  the  ideas  peculiar  to 
it.  More  than  that,  the  agitation  was  organized,  systematic 
and  incessant,  a  fact  which  means  very  much,  indeed.  Nativ- 
ism existed,  as  has  been  shown,  continuously  in  New  York 
city  from  the  beginning  of  the  century  as  a  popular  sentiment, 
but  it  had  no  means  of  systematic  expression,  except  when 
some  political  association  would  force  it  for  the  moment  into 
sudden  action,  followed  by  eclipse  as  the  association  suc- 

1  Gildersleeve  Coll. 

1  List  of  grand-sachems  of  New  York  state  :  John  Harper,  1845  5  Simeon  Bald- 
win, 1845;  Thomas  R.  Whitney,  1846;  Daniel  Talmage,  1847,  1848;  Jesse 
Reed,  1849;  John  L.  Vandewater,  1850;  William  W.  Osborne,  1851  ;  Edward 
B.  Brush,  1852;  Thomas  R.  Whitney,  1853  ;  F.  M.  Butler,  1854;  F.  C.  Wagner, 
1855;  Laban  C.  Stiles,  1856;  William  B.  Lewis,  1857  ;  Edwin  R.  Sproul,  1858; 
James  A.  Lucas,  1859  ;  John  R.  Voorhis,  1860;  William  E.  Blakeney,  1861  ;  W. 
S.  Skinner,  1862;  Charles  E.  Gildersleeve,  1863,  1864,  1865, 


76  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [274 

cumbed  to  mightier  rivals.  The  nativist  secret  societies  acted 
as  conservators  of  the  sentiment,  drawing  it  together,  massing  it 
and  sending  it  forth  again  to  find  such  expression  as  it  could. 
They  were  not  secure  against  revulsion  of  public  feeling,  as 
their  history  shows,  but  they  were  secure  against  the  enmity 
of  politicians.  The  political  leaders  had  no  weapons  to  use 
against  social  movements  of  the  form  in  which  nativism  was  em- 
bodied up  to  the  time  that  it  attempted  to  pose  as  a  political 
party. 

When  the  American  Republican  movement  passed  away,  in 
1847,  there  were  still  in  the  community  the  old  feelings  of 
racial  antipathy  whose  strength  and  depth  is  not  to  be  meas- 
ured by  the  poll  of  any  election.  It  was  these  feelings  on 
which  the  new  nativist  societies  relied  for  their  earlier  growth. 
In  1848  and  the  years  suceeding  the  people  of  America  were 
deeply  interested  in  the  European  uprisings.  American 
thought  interpreted  the  events  of  the  day  as  efforts  toward  a 
broader  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  American  opinion 
watched  the  struggle  between  absolutism  and  revolution  with 
the  keenest  interest  and  sympathy.  In  that  struggle  the  per- 
sonality of  Pope  Pius  IX.  stood  forth  prominently  as  that  of 
an  arbiter  whose  word  might  make  or  mar  the  plan  for 
which  the  revolutionists  seemed  striving.  When,  therefore,  it 
was  definitely  seen  that  the  Pope  had  gone  over  to  reactionary 
ideas,  the  comments  were  such  that  Bishop  Hughes  felt  im- 
pelled to  use  his  pen  in  defense  of  papal  acts.1  Then  arose 
the  old  nativist  argument  that  Catholics  could  not  at  the  same 
time  approve  papal  absolutism  in  Europe,  and  be  honestly 
faithful  to  republicanism  in  America.  The  coming  of  Kossuth 
in  1851  perpetuated  the  discussion,  for  the  Catholic  bishop 
caused  more  comment  by  refusing  to  join  in  the  hero-worship 
of  the  hour.  These  events  occurred  in  the  years  when  the 
nativist  societies  were  growing,  and  the  public  was  not  dis- 
posed to  look  unkindly  upon  the  new  exponents  of  American 
1  Kehoe,  ii,  p.  776. 


275] 


RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES 


ideas.  Had  the  new  societies  made  any  pretence  at  open  po- 
litical expression,  the  popular  feeling  toward  them  might  pos- 
sibly have  been  different,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  was  yet 
hinted.  The  O.  U.  A.  was  the  typical  society  of  the  hour,  and 
it  did  not  talk  politics. 

The  gradual  evolution  of  the  new  political  nativism  had 
nevertheless  begun.  Even  while  Bishop  Hughes  was  penning 
his  defense  of  papal  policy,  the  executive  bodies  of  the  O.  U.  A. 
were  throwing  their  influence  in  support  of  the  public  school 
system,  to  which  the  bishop  was  opposed.  It  was  in  the  fall 
of  1850  that  O.  U.  A.  men  applied  the  principles  of  their  Order 
to  politics  by  voting  against  that  repeal  ot  the  school  law 
which  Bishop  Hughes  desired.1  As  yet  they  had  no  political 
machinery  to  direct  their  vote,  but  that,  too,  was  being  planned 
by  busy  brains,  and  within  a  very  few  months  would  take  up 
its  work.  The  year  1850  was  the  one  in  which  the  new  grand 
executive  committee  began  to  feel  its  way  toward  political 
action,  which  would  depend  for  its  success  upon  the  machinery 
of  a  secret  society.  The  fundamental  law  of  the  O.  U.  A.  had 
nothing  in  it  that  would  condemn  common  action  by  the  mem- 
bership in  political  matters,  nor  that  would  prevent  them  from 
using  the  regular  machinery  of  the  Order  for  that  purpose  if 
desired.  The  preamble  of  the  constitution  of  1848  had  a  para- 
graph on  the  relation  of  the  Order  to  politics,  but  it  did  not 
discourage  political  action.  It  was  as  follows  :  2 

We  disclaim  all  association  with  party  politics.  We  hold  no  connection  with 
party  men.  But  we  avow  distinctly  our  purpose  of  doing  whatever  may  seem  best 
to  us  for  sustaining  our  national  institutions,  for  upholding  our  national  liberties, 
and  for  freeing  them  wholly  from  all  foreign  and  deleterious  influences  whatever. 

The  meeting  of  the  first  Grand  Executive  Convention  of  the 
Order,  on  May  17,  1850,  was  the  beginning  of  the  work  of 
organizing  a  new  executive  mechanism.  At  that  session  sev- 
eral of  the  chapters  of  the  Order  were  not  represented,  and  in 
consequence  a  committee  was  appointed  to  see  that  those  chap- 

1  Whitney,  p.  278.  »  O.  U.  A.t  1849,  April  21. 


78  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

ters  should  appoint  executive  committees  in  order  to  be  repre- 
sented in  Convention.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  accordingly, 
every  chapter  of  the  organization  had  its  delegates.  Then 
began  a  rapid  evolution.  On  February  17,  1851,  the  Conven- 
tion adopted  rules  of  procedure  and  a  pass-word  system,  which 
gave  it  secrecy  in  its  workings.  Later  in  the  year  it  took  up 
a  plan  for  organizing  the  voters  of  the  Order,  and  eventually 
completed  its  work,  on  December  16,  1851,  by  the  adoption  of 
a  code  of  fifteen  rules  which  mapped  out  a  new  and  secret 
system  of  political  work.  Henceforth  the  political  activity  of 
the  O.  U.  A.  was  to  be  managed  by  a  mechanism  which  seemed 
remarkably  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  existed. 
The  new  machine  was  not  completed  in  time  to  be  used  in  the 
fall  campaign  of  1851.  At  the  November  election  there  was, 
nevertheless,  an  evidence  of  O.  U.  A.  activity.  It  happened 
that  Henry  Storms,  one  of  the  nominees  on  the  Democratic 
state  ticket,  was  a  member  of  the  O.  U.  A.  That  fact  becom- 
ing known  to  the  foreign  element,  he  was  roundly  denounced 
by  them  and  threats  made  of  his  defeat.  As  a  matter  of  mere 
comradeship,  the  United  Americans  rallied  to  his  support  and 
were  able  to  balance  the  effect  of  foreign  hostility. x 

Under  the  new  executive  system  a  all  political  matters  fell 
under  the  control  of  the  Executive  Convention,  composed  of 
delegates  from  the  chapters  and  acting  under  pledge  of  strict 
secrecy.  The  Convention  shared  power  v/ith  a  cabinet, 
namely,  the  grand  executive  committee.  This  cabinet  was 
made  up  of  nine  men,  of  whom  three  retired  annually.  The 
members  owed  their  appointment  to  Chancery,  which  was 
outside  of  the  political  mechanism.  The  committee  was  de- 
pendent on  the  Convention  for  moral  support  in  all  important 
moves,  but  at  the  same  time  its  position  was  such  that  it  could 
usually  wield  some  influence  over  the  larger  body.  This 
power  on  its  part  was  due  to  three  facts :  first,  the  committee 

1  Republic,  1852,  July. 
*  This  description  is  drawn  from  the  executive  records. 


277] 


°F  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES 


held  sole  control  of  the  executive  fund;  second,  its  tenure  was 
not  controlled  by  the  Convention;  third,  the  members  of  the 
committee  were  also  members  of  the  Convention.  The  com- 
mittee and  Convention  were  checks  upon  each  other.  The 
jurisdiction  of  the  executive  bodies  extended  over  the  whole 
state.  Every  chapter  in  the  state  was  entitled  to  representa- 
tion in  Convention,  although  as  a  matter  of  fact,  very  few 
chapters  outside  of  New  York  city  really  sent  delegates.  For 
matters  that  concerned  only  portions  of  the  Order's  member- 
ship, a  system  of  subordinate  conventions  was  created.  In 
each  county  the  chapters  in  that  county  could  have  executive 
conventions.  The  same  was  true  of  legislative  districts. 
Over  them  all  stood  the  Grand  Executive  Convention  as 
supreme  control.  The  manner  in  which  the  Convention  was 
constituted  favored  its  grasp  at  power.  Had  its  individual 
members  been  merely  delegates  chosen  by  their  chapters  for 
no  other  purpose  than  to  meet  in  Convention,  their  decisions 
might  or  might  not  have  been  accepted  when  reported  back 
to  the  chapters  from  which  the  delegates  came,  but  the  Con- 
vention members  were  more  than  mere  delegates.  The  Con- 
vention was  really  a  mass  meeting  of  the  executive  committees 
of  the  several  chapters.  Each  member  of  it  was  an  officer  in 
his  own  chapter  clothed  with  executive  power  and  discretion. 
A  mandate  of  the  Convention  could  be  carried  out  by  the 
members  of  it  and  did  not  need  to  be  reported  back  to  the 
chapters  for  debate  or  approval.  In  practice  an  effort  was 
made  to  keep  political  matters  outside  the  sphere  of  chapter 
action.  The  old  rule  that  no  member  of  the  Order  should  be 
in  any  way  pledged  as  to  his  political  conduct  remained  un- 
altered. A  member  of  the  Order  was  entitled  to  full  inde- 
pendence as  to  his  own  vote.  Over  him  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  his  chapter  had  no  power  beyond  mere  suggestion. 
The  Executive  Convention  therefore  had  this  drawback,  that 
its  members  must  depend  largely  on  their  own  personal  influ- 
ence in  carrying  out  a  political  plan  where  the  votes  of  the 


80  POLITICAL  .\AT1V1SM 

Order  were  essential.  The  O.  U.  A.  executive  system  is  an 
interesting  example  of  political  organization.  Unfortunately,  it 
never  had  the  opportunity  for  free  and  full  development.  It 
had  hardly  been  put  in  working  order  when  the  rival  society 
of  the  Know-Nothings,  with  its  much  simpler  mechanism  and 
more  thorough-going  policy,  attracted  political  workers  to  its 
ranks. 

The  political  action  of  the  O.  U.  A.  executive  system  was 
intended  to  be  strictly  on  nativist  lines.  One  of  the  provisions 
in  the  fifteen  rules  of  December  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
chapter  executives  should  not  use  their  influence  or  their 
funds  for  party  purposes,  but  only  for  the  purpose  of  opposing 
foreign  influence  at  the  polls.  Another  rule  ordered  that  exe- 
cutive work  should  be  carried  on  with  secrecy,  and  should  not 
be  in  the  name  of  the  Order.  The  precise  method  of.  work 
was  laid  out  in  another  rule  as  follows  : 

Rule  Nine  :  Whenever  it  shall  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  Order  to  aid  in  the 
choice  of  men  for  public  office  through  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  each  executive  committee  to  call  together  the  members  of  the  Order  in  their 
district  prior  to  the  usual  primary  elections  or  nominations,  and  determine  upon  suita- 
ble candidates  of  each  party  or  either,  as  they  may  determine.  It  will  be  the  duty  of 
the  members  to  assemble  at  the  times  and  places  of  holding  the  primary  meetings 
of  such  party  or  parties,  and  there  use  their  influence  in  obtaining  the  nomination 
of  the  candidates  they  have  selected.  If  the  nominations  are  secured  and  ratified 
our  cause  will  triumph,  whichever  party  may  be  successful.  Should  the  members 
of  the  Order  nominate  or  select  candidates  already  in  the  field,  nominated  by  one 
party  only,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  every  brother  to  sustain  that  selection  independent 
of  any  party  consideration. 

The  formulation  of  Rule  Nine  by  the  Executive  Convention 
was  a  most  significant  step.  It  is  the  first  authentic  land- 
mark in  the  history  of  what  came  to  be  known  a  few  years 
later  as  "  dark-lantern  politics."  Popular  thought  has  laid  the 
responsibility  for  secret  politics  upon  the  Know-Nothing 
Order,  but  all  evidence  now  extant  seems  to  show  that  in  Decem- 
ber, 1851,  when  these  rules  were  adopted  by  the  O.  U.  A.,  the 
so  called  Know-Nothing  Order  was  a  neglectable  quantity.  It 
may  perhaps  have  had  forty  members,  but  it  was  utterly 


279] 


RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES 


powerless  and  petty.  The  responsibility  of  introducing  secret 
methods  into  New  York  politics  must  rest  upon  the  greater 
society  of  the  United  Americans,  whose  membership  at  this 
time  was  numbered  by  thousands. 

The  new  executive  system  of  the  O.  U.  A.  was  ready  in  time 
for  the  campaign  of  1852.  It  was  presidential  year,  and  the 
work  of  politics  began  with  the  primaries  held  to  select  dele- 
gates to  the  preliminary  conventions.  On  May  8th,  the  Exe- 
cutive Convention  took  its  first  formal  step  in  the  actual  use 
of  its  new  system.  Resolutions  in  regard  to  presidential  aspi- 
rants were  passed  after  much  debate  and  opposition.  The 
resolutions  recommended  the  chapter  executive  committees  to 
use  their  influence  at  the  party  primaries  toward  the  nomina- 
tion of  Millard  Fillmore  by  the  Whigs  and  the  nomination  of 
General  Cass  by  the  Democrats.  Unfortunately,  neither  of 
the  O.  U.  A.  favorites  secured  the  prize,  and  the  Executive 
Convention  refused  to  endorse  either  one  of  the  nominees 
actually  chosen  by  the  great  parties.  The  Convention  also 
refused  to  endorse  the  nomination  of  Daniel  Webster  by  the 
Native  American  Convention  held  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey, 
in  July.  The  Convention  seems  not  to  have  attempted  to  in- 
fluence the  selection  of  state  tickets  by  the  great  parties. 

In  regard  to  local  tickets  in  New  York  city,  the  O.  U.  A. 
was  able  to  exercise  more  effective  judgment.  In  relation  to 
these,  there  was  a  loosely  organized  nativist  movement  which 
expressed  itself  partly  through  the  secret  system  of  the  O.  U.  A. 
and  partly  through  an  open  movement  that  based  itself  on  the 
idea  of  city  reform.  The  same  men  were  behind  both  forms 
of  effort.  It  is  at  this  time  that  Thomas  R.  Whitney  comes  to 
the  front  as  a  nativist  politician.  He  was  one  of  those  who 
brought  to  the  work  of  the  secret  society  experience  gained  in 
the  old  movement  of  the  American  Republicans.  During  the 
whole  Know-Nothing  period  he  was  prominent,  but  was  espec- 
ially representative  of  the  O.  U.  A.  and  might  be  called  the 
leading  man  of  that  organization.  Whitney  was  one  of  the  group, 


82  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [28o 

of  nativists  who  organized  the  City  Reform  League,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1852,  to  take  a  part  in  the  fall  campaign.1  The  League 
did  not  announce  any  nativist  principles.  On  October  nth, 
the  Executive  Convention  of  the  secret  order  met  to  pass  upon 
the  local  tickets.  It  did  not  adopt  nominees  for  all  the  offices, 
but  picked  out  eleven  names,  mostly  those  of  Whig  candidates.2 
Then,  a  little  later,  the  Reform  League  also  went  through  the 
work  of  nomination  and  supplemented  the  convention  ticket 
by  naming  candidates  for  four  offices  which  the  Convention 
had  passed  over.3  All  this  preparation  for  organizing  the 
O.  U.  A.  vote  did  not  go  on  without  some  hint  of  it  reaching 
the  outer  world.  As  early  as  July  rumors  were  current  of 
action  by  the  Order,  and  later  on  some  of  the  New  York 
papers  stigmatized  the  Reform  League  as  an  offspring  of  na- 
tivism.4  In  general,  however,  the  daily  press  acted  as  if  ignor- 
ant of  the  whole  matter,  and  when  the  votes  were  counted  they 
were  justified  for  their  silence  by  the  weakness  of  the  effort 
which  had  been  made.  The  political  groups  stood  as  fol- 
lows: 

Democratic  Party about  31,250  votes. 

Whig  Party about  23,800  votes. 

City-reform  movement about     1,480  votes. 

Nativist  movement about     1,480  votes. 

Temperance  movement about    1,260  votes. 

Anti  slavery  movement about        140  votes. 

The  importance  of  this  campaign  for  nativism  was  merely 
that   it  had  made  a  beginning.     It  was   yet  a  very  long  way 

1  Post,  1852,  October  5,  p.  2. 

*  Judge  Supreme  Court,  Charles  P.  Kirkland  ;  Judge  Superior  Court,  John  L. 
Mason  ;  Sheriff,  John  Orser  ;  Clerk,  George  W.  Riblet ;  Corp.  Counsel,  Ogden 
Hoffman  ;  Almshouse  Gov'r,  Washington  Smith  ;  Street  Comm'r,  John  J.  Doane  ; 
Coroners :  Robert  Gamble,  Joseph  Hilton,  Charles  Missing,  Bern  L.  Budd. 

* Mayor,  Jacob  A.  Westervelt ;  Comptroller,  Azariah  C.  Flagg ;  Inspector, 
John  H.  Griscom ;  Repairs  Comm'r,  William  Adams ;  Almshouse  Gov'r,  Wash- 
ington Smith. 

4  Republic,  1852,  December. 


28  I ]  RISE  OF  THE  SECRET  SOCIETIES  83 

from  holding  a  balance  of  power.  The  Executive  Convention 
had  not  met  a  very  enthusiastic  response  from  the  Order  in  its 
effort  to  organize  a  vote.  Probably  the  vote  cast  for  the 
Convention's  ticket  represented  about  one-fifth  of  the  voting 
strength  of  the  Order.  The  newly-discovered  organization  01 
Charles  B.  Allen  and  his  friends  fell  into  the  hands  of  members 
of  the  O.  U.  A.  during  the  year  1852  and  was  growing.  Prob- 
ably it  threw  what  little  strength  it  possessed  to  the  aid  of  the 
nativist  ticket  in  this  election  of  1852,  but  there  is  no  record 
of  it.  Before  another  campaign  came  round,  however,  the  little 
organization  had  grown  into  a  force  that  distracted  public  at- 
tention entirely  from  the  executive  work  of  the  United  Amer- 
icans. 


CHAPTER  IV 

RISE   OF   THE    KNOW-NOTHING    ORDER,   1853-54 

BY  the  close  of  1852  the  nativist  secret  societies  were  rep- 
resented in  New  York  city  and  Brooklyn  by  some  sixty  dif- 
ferent bodies.  Under  the  circumstances  a  popular  revival  of 
nativism  in  some  form  was  a  logical  sequence.  It  appeared 
first  in  the  form  of  attacks  upon  the  Catholic  church  early  in 
the  next  year.  The  English  press  supplied  the  stimulus.  The 
story  came  across  the  sea  of  the  Madiai  family  in  Tuscany, 
said  to  have  been  cruelly  imprisoned  for  reading  the  Protest- 
ant Bible,  and  the  American  public  expressed  its  horror  suita- 
bly in  public  meetings,  not  forgetting  to  say  many  interesting 
and  bitter  things  about  the  Roman  church  at  the  same  time. 
Editorials  and  open  letters  on  the  subject  came  into  print  in 
large  numbers,  and  their  general  tenor  was  that  the  Catholic 
church,  judged  by  its  own  acts,  was  a  foe  to  religious  liberty. 
Another  matter  came  before  the  public  at  the  same  time.  The 
news  dispatches  from  various  American  cities  told  how  the 
Catholic  bishops,  with  a  curious  similarity  of  effort,  were  attack- 
ing the  American  non-sectarian  school  system.  The  convic- 
tion spread,  and  was  often  expressed,  that  there  was  some  sort 
of  concerted  plan  on  foot  for  the  modification  of  the  public 
school  system  to  suit  the  wishes  of  the  Roman  church.  This 
also  disturbed  a  nervous  public.  While  these  things  were 
being  discussed  there  came  to  New  York  an  Italian  orator, 
Alessandro  Gavazzi.  He  had  been  a  priest  and  teacher  in 
Italy,  and  had  become  revolutionary  under  the  liberalism  of 
Pius  IX.  When  the  revolution  failed  he  fled  to  England  and 
abjured  Catholicism.  His  visit  to  America  was  for  the  pur- 
84  [282 


283]  RJSE  OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER  85 

pose  of  delivering  addresses,  and  the  time  was  opportune, 
both  for  him  and  for  the  nativist  societies  who  gave  him  wel- 
come. Gavazzi  was  viewed  by  the  public  in  something  the 
same  light  as  the  hero,  Kossuth,  only,  of  course,  the  Italian 
had  played  a  more  humble  part  in  the  drama  of  revolution. 
He  was  considered  to  be  sincere  at  least,  and  his  bitter  denun- 
ciation of  the  Catholic  church,  continued  week  after  week, 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  people.  Nativism  expanded 
visibly  under  the  influence  of  his  work.  An  evidence  of  its 
existence  was  the  Ninth  ward  riot  of  July  4th,  in  which  an 
Irish  procession  was  broken  up,  and  its  members  driven  from 
the  streets. 

In  midsummer  nativism  began  to  take  political  form  in 
preparation  for  the  fall  campaign.  The  men  who  began  the 
movement  at  this  time  seem  to  have  acted  wholly  independ- 
ently of  nativist  secret  societies.  Their  plan  was  for  an  open 
organization  opposed  to  foreign  ideas,  but  tolerant  of  foreign- 
ers who  embraced  American  views.  The  first  meeting  was 
held  about  the  first  of  August.1  The  new  movement  was 
launched  under  the  name  of  the  American  Party,  and  with 
a  platform  which  touched  upon  most  of  the  issues  of  the 
day.1  Among  other  things  the  platform  stood  for  a  free  non- 
sectarian  school  system,  restricted  naturalization,  Bible-read- 
ing in  public  schools,  and  non-clerical  control  of  all  property 
held  for  church  uses.  These  ideas  were  sufficient  to  stamp 
the  new  party  as  a  nativist  one.  It  began  to  organize  in  much 
the  same  way  as  the  American  Republicans  had  done  in  1843, 
but  its  experience  was  different.  For  two  or  three  weeks  all 
went  well.  A  provisional  committee  began  the  work  of  or- 
ganizing the  wards.  On  August  17  the  Ninth  ward,  where 
the  recent  riot  had  occurred,  was  organized,2  and  others  also 
shortly  after.  Hardly  had  the  movement  gotten  under  way 

1  Herald,  1853,  August  3,  p.  4,  August  18,  p.  I. 
*  Herald,  1853,  August  18,  p.  I. 


86  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [284 

when  an  element  of  extremists  came  in,  which  would  be  satis- 
fied with  nothing  less  than  general  proscription  of  all  the  for- 
eign-born.1 Their  views  clashed  with  those  of  the  moderate 
men  who  had  fathered  the  new  party.  A  conflict  of  ideas  re- 
sulted, and  the  expansion  of  the  party  ceased  as  disputes 
began.  Early  in  October  the  movement  broke  down.  Some 
of  its  leaders  went  into  the  city- reform  movement  of  the  year. 
Their  party  disappeared. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  the  advent  of  the  secret  Order 
of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner  in  effective  political  work.  This 
society  had  grown  steadily  during  1852  and  the  early  months 
of  1853,  but  without  coming  into  the  notice  of  the  general 
public.  Its  membership  had  been  recruited  until  it  reached 
into  the  thousands.  That  portion  of  the  O.  U.  A.  which  was 
interested  in  politics  joined  the  ranks  of  the  newer  order,  at- 
tracted by  its  more  thorough-going  methods,  and  they  were 
ready  to  use  its  machinery  for  the  campaign  work  of  1853. 
The  methods  which  were  followed  in  the  political  work  of  this 
year  were  the  same  which  had  been  formulated  for  the  execu- 
tive work  of  the  O.  U.  A.,  and  which  had  been  used  in  the 
preceding  campaign.  They  included  a  systematic  effort  to 
control,  first,  the  party  caucuses,  then  the  party  conventions, 
then  the  election  itself.  There  is  no  record  of  the  secret  work 
of  the  Order  of  the  Star- Spangled  Banner  in  this  campaign. 
The  executive  records  of  the  O.  U.  A.  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  organization  of  the  nativist  vote  was  practically  left  to  the 
younger  order.  The  existence  of  some  sort  of  nativist  influ- 
ence began  to  be  known  when  the  Whig  primaries  met  early 
in  October,  for  there  were  tickets  of  nativist  make-up  put  for- 
ward in  several  of  the  ward  caucuses.2  Very  little  notice  was 
taken  of  this,  however,  for  ward  politics  often  showed  petty 
phenomena  of  one  sort  or  another,  and  the  break-up  of  the 
abortive  American  Party  was  now  going  on,  indicating  the  fu- 

1  Times,  1853,  August  31,  p.  3. 
3  Tribune,  1853,  October  12,  p.  5. 


285]  RISE  OF  THE  KNOW- NOTHING  ORDER  37 

tility  of  political  nativisrn.  Nativist  influence  attracted  more 
attention  when  the  Whig  senatorial  conventions  met,  for  it  put 
forward  Thomas  R.  Whitney  in  one  district,  and  forced  him 
upon  the  convention  despite  a  bitter  opposition.  Once 
more  the  nativist  influence  came  into  view  at  the  CityReform 
mass-convention  of  October  3ist,  which  had  been  called  to 
ratify  a  Reform  ticket.  The  presence  of  two  Irish  lawyers 
upon  the  proposed  ticket  made  it  objectionable  to  nativists. 
At  the  mass-convention,  accordingly,  the  ticket  was  refused 
ratification,  and  had  to  be  withdrawn.  This  action,  which 
showed  clearly  that  the  nativists  were  well  organized  for  con- 
certed effort,  was  ascribed  by  the  press  to  the  O.  U.  A.1  Thus 
far  the  existence  of  the  Know-Nothing  society  seems  not  to 
have  been  known  to  the  public.  These  outcroppings  of 
nativist  influence  which  the  daily  press  noted  were  really  mere 
hints  of  the  systematic  work  which  was  being  silently  done 
by  the  secret  orders.  It  was  in  the  Whig  Party  that  their  in- 
fluence was  most  apparent.  All  facts  indicate  that  the  most 
of  the  nativists  at  this  time  were  Whigs.  After  the  conven- 
tions of  the  older  parties  had  been  held  the  Order  of  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner  selected  its  own  list  of  nominees  from  the 
tickets  made  by  the  conventions.  It  made  for  itself  a  state 
ticket,  judiciary  and  city  tickets,2  together  with  a  few  legisla- 
tive nominations.  The  Executive  Convention  of  the  O.  U.  A. 
made  selections  on  November  2d,  but  its  action  was  far  less 
sweeping.  It  disapproved  one  nominee  on  the  Whig  state 
ticket,  and  endorsed  seven  judicial  and  legislative  candidates, 
but  this  was  all.  So  far  as  the  Convention  went,  it  concurred 
with  the  secret  ticket  of  its  sister  order.  It  is  very  probable 
that  the  harmonious  action  of  the  two  secret  societies  in  this 
and  other  campaigns  of  the  time  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  same  men  had  control  of  both  machines. 

1  Jotir.  Commerce,  1853,  November  I,  p.  2. 

2  Judge   Supreme   Court,  Charles  P.  Kirkland;  Justices  Superior  Court,  John 
Duer,  Murray  Hoffman,  Peter  Y.  Cutler;  Judge  Common  Pleas,  George  P.  Nel- 
son ;  District  Attorney,  Chauncey  Shaffer ;  Almshouse  Gov'r,  William  S.  Duke. 


88  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [286 

In  the  campaign  of  1853  the  work  of  the  nativist  politicians 
was  in  great  measure  unsuspected  by  the  general  public. 
Some  hints  of  it  must  necessarily  leak  out,  nevertheless,  and 
those  who  were  interested  in  politics  became  well  aware  that 
organized  nativism  was  in  the  field.  The  work  of  the  nativist 
element  was  most  open  in  the  contest  for  the  place  of  district 
attorney.  Blunt,  the  Whig  incumbent  of  the  office,  was  a 
candidate  for  re-election,  but  nativists  disapproved  of  his  lack 
of  zeal  in  the  cases  arising  out  of  the  Ninth  ward  riot,  and 
they  supported  against  him  a  popular  Democratic  nominee. 
This  hostility  to  Blunt  attracted  notice.  Close  upon  election 
the  information  passed  around  that  the  new  influence  in  local 
politics  was  a  political  secret  society  wholly  distinct  from  the 
O.  U.  A.  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  existence  of  an  un- 
,  known  society  had  been  recognized  by  the  general  public.  As 
to  the  name,  numbers  and  nature  of  the  mysterious  society  no 
one  as  yet  had  information,  but  almost  at  once  a  name  was 
supplied  for  it.  It  began  to  be  called  the  "  Know-Nothing  " 
Order  in  popular  speech,  because,  as  the  daily  press  explained, 
the  members  professed  to  know  nothing  about  it  when  ques- 
tioned. Sometimes,  later  on,  the  authorship  of  the  phrase  was 
ascribed  to  E.  Z.  C.  Judson,  otherwise  "  Ned  Buntline,"  who 
was  a  conspicuous  exponent  of  radical  nativism  at  this  time. 
Whatever  its  origin,  the  name  was  used  by  the  New  York 
Tribune  on  November  loth,  and  this  was  perhaps  its  first  ap- 
pearance in  print.  It  became  common  phrase  as  soon  as  the 
press  adopted  it. 

The  Know-Nothing  state  ticket  of  1853  was  of  little  signifi- 
cance in  the  final  results  of  election,  for  the  success  of  the  Whig 
Party  in  the  state  campaign  was  a  foregone  conclusion  on 
account  of  a  split  in  the  state  Democracy.  The  ticket  was 
only  a  record  of  nativist  strength.  The  personnel  of  the  first 
Know-Nothing  state  ticket  included  six  Whigs  and  four  Dem- 
ocrats selected  from  the  state  tickets  of  the  older  parties.  It 
was  as  follows  : 


287]  RISE  OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER  89 

Sec'y  of  State George  W.  Clinton  of  Erie. 

Comptroller James  W.  Cook  of  Saratoga. 

Treasurer .  Winslow  C.  Watson  of  Essex. 

Attorney-General Ogden  Hoffman  of  New  York. 

Engineer John  T.  Clark  of  Oneida. 

Canal  Commis'r Cornelius  Gardinier  of  Montgomery. 

Prison  Inspector Miles  W.  Bennett  of  Onondaga. 

Judge,  C't  of  Appeals  ....  Hiram  Denio  of  Oneida. 
Judge,  C't  of  Appeals  ....  George  Wood  of  Kings. 
Clerk,  C't  of  Appeals  ....  Benjamin  F.  Harwood  of  Livingston. 

In  support  of  this  the  secret  orders  cast  a  vote  that  repre- 
sented very  fairly  the  strength  of  their  movement  so  far  as  it 
had  developed.  Their  vote  was  as  yet  confined  mostly  to  the 
counties  of  New  York  and  Kings.  Although  it  made  a  very 
noticeable  difference  in  the  poll  of  the  ticket  locally,  it  yet  was 
lost  in  the  greater  aggregate  of  the  state  canvass  complete. 
The  Whigs  carried  the  state  by  60,000  plurality.  The 
averages  of  parties  for  the  state  at  large  was  as  follows : 

Whig  Party about  161,700  votes. 

Soft  Shell  Democrats about    95,600  votes. 

Hard- Shell  Democrats about    94,800  votes. 

Free  Democrats about    14,600  votes. 

Nativist  movement l about      2,000  votes. 

In  the  contest  for  city  offices  the  nativist  vote  had  much 
more  importance.  The  break  in  the  Democratic  Party  had 
made  the  Whig  organization  the  strongest  element  in  city 
politics,  and  even  on  the  closely  contested  place  of  district 
attorney,  the  nativists  were  unable  to  overcome  Whig  strength, 
but  they  came  fairly  close  to  it.  It  was  said  that  only  the  en- 
dorsement of  Blunt  at  the  last  moment  by  one  of  the  nativist 
societies  saved  him  from  defeat.2  The  poll  of  the  local  can- 
vass  gave  the  following  averages  : 3 

1  These  figures  underestimate  the  nativist  vote  in  the  state  because  the  nativist 
split-ticket  had  too  small  a  following  in  proportion  to  the  total  state  vote  to  make 
it  accurately  distinctive  in  figuring  averages. 

2 Herald,  1854,  June  II,  p.  4.  *  Comm.  Advertiser,  1853,  December  5. 


gQ  POLITICAL  NATIV1SM  [288 

Whig  Party      about  16,400  votes. 

Hard-Shell  Democrats about  13,110  votes. 

Soft-Shell  Democrats about  11,330  votes. 

Nativist  movement about    4,220  votes. 

Temperance  movement about       400  votes. 

The  election  showed  that  the  strength  of  political  nativism 
had  trebled  during  the  twelve  months  since  the  campaign  of 
1852.  This  may  be  ascribed  partly  to  the  increase  of  nativist 
sentiment  by  the  popular  discussion  of  the  year,  partly  also  to 
the  preaching  of  the  secret  societies,  and  partly  to  the  con- 
fusion of  the  local  politics  of  New  York  city  consequent  on 
the  split  in  the  Democracy.  The  nature  of  the  new  nativist 
phenomena  was  so  little  understood  that  it  received  very  little 
attention  from  the  local  press.  Some  of  the  papers  referred 
briefly  to  the  existence  of  a  secret  mixed  ticket.  The  Tribune, 
always  unfriendly  to  nativism,  described  the  secret  nomi- 
nations more  fully.  "  This  ticket,"  it  said,  "  is  the  work 
of  the  managers  of  a  secret  organization  growing  out  of  the 
O.  U.  A.,  but  ostensibly  disconnected  therewith.  It  is  in  fact 
a  modified  or  rather  a  disguised  form  of  Native  Americanism 
aiming  to  control  the  elections  of  our  city  for  the  benefit  of  its 
leaders."  x  A  few  days  after  this  the  Tribune  again  touched 
upon  the  new  movement.  "  In  the  present  instance  it  is  per- 
fectly well  understood  that  the  Know-Nothing  organization  is 
but  a  new  dodge  of  protean  nativism.  It  is  essentially  anti- 
foreign,  especially  anti-Irish  and  anti-Catholic."  2  Before  the 
close  of  November,  as  the  result  of  its  share  in  the  campaign, 
the  aims  and  existence  of  the  secret  order  were  well  known, 
although  its  plan  of  organization  was  yet  a  mystery  to  all  out- 
side its  ranks. 

The  secret  society  existed  during  1853  in  dual  form.  One 
branch  was  organized  under  a  supervisory  body  called  the 
State  Wigwam  and  the  other  under  a  like  body  called  the 

1  Tribune,  1853,  November  IO,  p.  4. 

2  Tribune,  1853,  November  16,  p.  4. 


289] 


J?fS£  OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER 


Grand  Council.1  In  each  case  these  supervisory  bodies  were 
probably  identical  with  the  oldest  wigwam  or  council  of  the 
respective  branches.2  The  O.  U.  A.  began  its  expansion  under 
an  arrangement  of  this  kind.  The  date  of  December  7,  1853, 
given  for  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Council  by  one 
authority,3  possibly  indicates  the  transition  to  a  representative 
body  like  that  which  occurred  in  the  O.  U.  A.  in  1845.  The 
Know-Nothing  society  was  thus  a  divided  body  whose  two 
branches  were  engaged  in  earnest  rivalry,  though  not  neces- 
sarily a  hostile  rivalry.  In  this  dual  form  the  society  began 
very  early  to  find  establishment  in  neighboring  states  where 
nativist  feeling  existed.  There  was  apparently  no  systematic 
attempt  to  extend  the  society  outside  of  New  York,  for  its 
aims  were  primarily  local,  but  in  one  way  or  another  there 
had  been  visitors  from  other  states  admitted  into  the  Order 
and  they  had  duplicated  in  their  own  cities  the  methods  whose 
operations  they  had  seen  in  New  York.4  In  New  Jersey, 
Maryland,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts  and  Ohio,  there  were 
more  or  less  flourishing  offshoots  of  the  society  in  existence 
by  the  fall  of  1853.5  This  expansion  is  said  to  have  brought 
about  an  agreement  between  the  two  separated  branches  in 
regard  to  the  growth  of  the  society  outside  of  New  York. 
Under  the  compact  the  wigwam  organization  was  to  have  the 
sole  right  of  issuing  new  charters  in  the  region  north  and  east 
of  New  York  city,  while  the  council  organization  was  to  have 
the  same  right  over  the  region  to  the  south  and  west.6  This 
arrangement,  if  it  were  really  made,  foreshadowed  a  national 
organization  for  the  society,  but  as  yet,  and  for  some  months 
to  come,  there  was  probably  no  real  bond  between  the 
branches  in  the  different  states.  There  was  no  federal  body 
to  wield  power.  Whatever  coherence  there  was  must  have 
rested  solely  on  voluntary  pledges  between  the  scattered 
groups. 

1  See  p.  67.  *  Hrrald,  1854,  December  20,  p.  I. 

8  Whitney,  p.  284.  *  Carroll,  p.  269. 

5  Whitney,  p.  284  ;  Carroll,  p.  270.  6  Carroll,  p.  269. 


92  POLITICAL  N ATI V ISM  [390 

Scarcely  had  the  elections  of  1853  passed  by  when  events 
brought  the  new  secret  organization  to  the  front  in  the  engag- 
ing role  of  champion  of  free  speech.  Its  opportunity  for  this 
came  with  the  breaking  out  of  trouble  over  the  anti-Catholic 
street  preachers.  Gavazzi's  harangues  against  the  church  had 
inspired  less  talented  imitators  in  some  of  those  cities  which 
were  storm-centers  of  nativism.  In  Baltimore  and  Louisville, 
notably,  the  nativist  feeling  had  been  stirred  by  the  incendiary 
harangues  of  street  preachers  during  the  summer  of  1853.  In 
New  York  city  the  custom  of  street  preaching  was  an  old 
one,  but  hitherto  harmless.  Now  the  tendency  to  attack  the 
Roman  church  excited  the  notice  of  the  foreign  element, 
and  the  street  sermons  gave  rise  to  small  conflicts  between 
the  rougher  representatives  of  the  opposing  faiths.  This 
called  the  attention  of  the  police  to  the  street  preachers 
and  plans  were  laid  to  maintain  order.  On  Sunday,  Decem- 
ber nth,  the  police  accordingly  interfered  and  arrested 
a  preacher  named  Daniel  Parsons  who  had  been  talking  on 
successive  Sundays  at  the  shipyards  and  wharves  of  the  east 
side.  This  act  aroused  a  storm.  The  word  passed  around 
that  Parsons'  arrest  had  been  made  to  placate  the  Catholics. 
Very  soon  an  angry  mob  was  surging  round  the  mayor's 
house,  demanding  the  man's  release.  One  of  the  city  judges 
averted  danger  by  freeing  the  prisoner  and  then  the  mob 
dispersed. 

On  Wednesday  following  the  arrest  hand-bills  scattered 
through  the  city  called  the  people  to  a  mass-meeting  for  up- 
holding free  speech.  The  call  was  unsigned,  but  it  was  plainly 
a  nativist  move.  When  evening  came  there  were  thousands 
of  people  massed  in  the  moonlight  at  City  Hall  Park  to  an- 
swer the  call.  The  meeting  itself  was  carried  through 
smoothly  by  those  in  charge.  The  presiding  officer  was  a 
city  merchant,  James  W.  Barker,  who  had  joined  the  Know- 
Nothings  only  a  few  months  before,1  but  who  was  already 

1  Tribune,  1855,  June  4,  p.  5. 


291]  RISE  OF  THE  KNOW- NO  THING  ORDER  93 

prominent  in  the  secret  organization.  This  was  his  first  pub- 
lic appearance  as  a  nativist  leader.  The  speeches  and  reso- 
lutions of  the  meeting  took  as  their  theme  the  American  right 
of  free  speech,  and  charged  the  city  authorities  with  violating 
that  right  to  please  the  Roman  church.  The  effect  of  the 
meeting  was  to  excite  both  the  native  and  the  foreign  element, 
and  for  a  few  days  there  was  a  stirring  that  looked  toward 
strife.  Again,  as  in  1844,  the  mayor  of  the  city  and  the  Cath- 
olic bishop  issued  their  respective  proclamations  to  avert  the 
danger  of  racial  conflict.  When  Sunday  came  round  again, 
the  whole  city  nervously  awaited  results,  fearing  riot.  Par- 
sons preached  that  day  to  an  audience  of  10,000  persons.  He 
was  somewhat  more  mild  in  speech,  and  no  champion  of 
Catholicism  appeared  to  interrupt,  so  the  throng  melted  away 
peacefully  when  the  talk  was  done.  The  right  of  free  speech 
was  vindicated  and  the  crisis  was  past. 

This  series  of  incidents  made  a  dramatic  episode  in  the 
local  history  of  nativism.  In  after  years  there  lived  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  Know-Nothing  Order  had  its  origin  amid  these 
events.  At  the  time  of  its  happening  it  forced  upon  the  com- 
munity a  sudden  realization  that  the  mysterious  Know- Noth- 
ing Order  was  a  strong,  energetic  and  watchful  force.  The 
growth  of  the  nativist  societies  received  a  new  impulse.  New 
nativist  journals  announced  themselves  to  the  public  eye. 
New  speakers  sprang  out  of  obscurity  to  attack  the  Catholic 
church.  On  every  hand  there  were  patent  signs  of  popular 
sympathy.  The  O.  U.  A.  was  the  greatest  of  the  nativist  so- 
cieties, and  the  visible  symbol  of  nativism.  On  February  22,. 
1854,  it  made  a  formal  display  of  its  strength.  An  immense 
procession  of  its  chapters,  interspersed  with  nativist  military 
companies,  wound  through  the  city  streets  with  waving  ban- 
ners and  patriotic  devices.  The  procession  was  designedly  an 
exhibit  of  organized  nativism  for  the  benefit  of  the  foreign  ele- 
ment, and  it  won  prestige  for  the  movement  in  the  eyes  of 
native  and  foreign-born  alike.  All  through  the  earlier  months 


94  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [2Q2 

of  1854,  and  up  to  the  opening  of  the  fall  campaign,  the  ideas 
of  nativism  persistently  forced  themselves  to  the  front  in  the 
life  of  the  city.  The  unpopularity  of  the  Irish  people  grew 
more  intense  under  the  stimulus  of  the  warfare  which  was 
being  made  upon  them.  The  leaders  of  nativism  did  not 
countenance  anything  that  leaned  toward  violence,  but  the 
younger  and  the  rougher  elements  of  the  community  rather 
welcomed  a  pretext  for  disturbance  and  conflict.  Frequent 
petty  collisions  were  reported  by  the  daily  press  during  the 
winter  and  spring  months,  and  these  grew  in  violence  until,  by 
June,  they  were  seriously  called  riots.  The  street  preachers 
were  in  part  responsible  for  the  disturbances. 

Amid  these  scenes  a  new  nativist  secret  society  came  to 
light,  which  was  in  time  to  become  a  factor  in  the  political 
nativism  of  the  city.  At  its  inception,  however,  it  was 
rather  social  than  political.  Some  time  during  the  spring 
of  1854  a  young  man  named  William  W.  Patten  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  founding  a  nativist  secret  society  for 
the  younger  men  who  were  ineligible  to  the  Know-Noth- 
ing organization.  He  drew  up  a  ritual  with  the  aid  of  an 
anti-masonic  book,  and  called  his  new  society  the  Order  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Americans.1  Around  Patten  there  was 
quickly  gathered  a  large  company  of  the  younger  men.  They 
did  not  use  the  real  name  of  their  order,  but  usually  called  it 
the  Order  of  the  American  Star,  from  its  emblem,  a  five- 
pointed  star  bearing  in  its  center  the  figure  67.  Initiates 
knew  that  this  number  referred  to  the  age  of  Washington  at 
his  death.  Sometimes  the  members  were  called  the  "  United 
Brethren,"  but  more  often  they  were  known  as  the  "  Wide- 
Awakes,"  from  their  rallying-cry.  It  was  this  society  whose 
members  were  at  the  front  in  the  street  disturbances  and 

1  The  beginnings  of  this  society  were  described  in  a  pamphlet  of  1855,  and  the 
ritual  was  given  in  full.  Original  copy  in  Gildersleeve  Coll.  Reprint  in  Tribune, 
1855,  September  5,  p.  7.  See  also  a  distorted  reference  in  Tribune,  1855,  May 
29,  p.  5- 


293]  RISE  °F  THE  KNOW- NOTHING  ORDER  95 

which  gave  to  a  certain  style  of  hat  the  name  of  the  "  wide- 
awake," because  favored  by  the  members.  By  the  middle  of 
June  the  white  felt  "  wide-awake"  hats  were  everywhere 
deemed  the  insignia  of  nativism,1  and  exposed  the  wearers  to 
attack  from  Irishmen  at  very  short  notice. 

The  Irish- Catholic  population  thoroughly  realized  by  this 
time  the  extent  of  the  antipathy  which  was  directed  against 
them.  With  the  masses  it  aroused  only  a  blind  anger,  but 
some  of  the  better-educated  leaders  of  the  group  acknowledged 
that  the  nativist  feeling  was  not  without  basis,  and  counseled 
their  fellow-countrymen  to  change  their  habits.  An  open  let- 
ter from  Editor  Lynch  of  the  Irish- American  is  an  example  of 
these  utterances,  and  it  gives  also  the  following  interesting 
summary  of  the  complaints  against  the  Irish  -  Catholic 
element : 2 

"  Fellow  countrymen  and  friends  :  I  desire  to  point  your  special  and  emphatic 
attention  to  the  approaching  elections.  You  have  at  present  opposed  to  you  a 
bitter,  inimical  and  powerful  secret  society  called  the  Know- Nothings;  opposed 
to  you,  to  us  Irishmen  particularly,  on  the  grounds  that  we  are  impudent  and  vora- 
cious cormorants  of  petty  places  under  government ;  that  we  are  ignorant,  turbu- 
lent and  brutal ;  that  we  are  led  by  the  nose  and  entirely  controlled  by  our  clergy ; 
that  we  are  willing  subjects  of  a  foreign  prince,  the  Pope ;  that  we  are  only  lip- 
republicans  ;  that  we  are  not  worthy  of  the  franchise  ;.  that  by  the  largeness  of  our 
vote  and  the  clannishness  of  our  habits  and  dispositions  we  rule  or  aspire  to  rule  in 
America  ;  that  we  are  drunkards  and  criminals ;  that  we  fill  the  workhouses  and 
prisons  ;  that  we  heap  up  taxes  on  industrious  and  sober  and  thrifty  citizens;  and 
that  for  these  and  other  reasons  we  should  be  deposed  from  our  citizenship,  and  in 
fact  rooted  out  of  this  American  nation  as  a  body  by  every  fair  and  foul  means : 
And  I  can  tell  you  that  outside  the  secret  organization  of  the  Know-Nothings,  out- 
side and  beyond  its  influence  and  power,  an  anti-Irish  and  anti-Catholic  sentiment 
prevails,"  etc.,  etc. 

There  was,  in  fact,  a  general  assault  all  along  the  line  upon 
the  objectionable  people  during  1854.  Not  only  were  the 
secret  societies,  the  Protestant  clergy  and  the  preachers  of  the 
streets  attacking  the  foreign  presence,  but  the  attacks  were 

1  Times,  1854,  June  12,  p.  4. 
1  Times,  1854,  August  30,  p.  2. 


n6  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [2Q4 

finding  their  way  into  print  in  all  forms.  There  were  a  half- 
dozen  periodicals  devoted  specially  to  nativism,  and  these  were 
reinforced  by  printed  pamphlets  and  nativist  books.  Popular 
fiction  grew  up  to  meet  the  new  demand,  and  cheap  novel- 
writers  found  new  materials  in  the  woes  of  captive  nuns  and 
the  wiles  of  Jesuit  brothers.  The  nativist  sentiment  entered 
into  the  homes  and  daily  thoughts  of  the  people  as  never 
before.  The  title  of  Know-Nothing  took  on  a  broad  meaning 
under  these  conditions  that  made  it  practically  synonymous 
with  nativist  without  reference  to  membership  in  the  mysterious 
society  from  whence  the  name  came. 

Public  curiosity  was  all  agog  over  the  unknown  organiza- 
tion of  the  Know-Nothings.  Wild  stories  flew  about,  telling 
of  thousands  of  armed  men  secretly  banded  for  unknown  pur- 
poses.1 Neither  the  Irish  leaders  nor  the  local  politicians 
liked  the  new  movement,  for  both  were  apprehensive  of  its 
effects  upon  their  plans.  These  two  classes  earnestly  watched 
for  real  knowledge  of  the  secret  society.  In  January  of 
1854  a  Catholic  paper  succeeded  in  getting  and  printing  the 
constitution  of  the  Guard  of  Liberty,  an  organization  which 
was  supposed  for  a  time  to  be  the  unknown  Know-Nothing 
Order.2  Soon,  however,  it  was  learned  that  the  Guard  was 
only  a  nativist  military  society  of  some  300  members,  which 
had  a  secret  ritual.3  It  was  not  the  much-sought  order  after 
all.  The  first  real  inklings  of  the  nature  of  the  Know-Noth- 
ing secret  system  came  to  the  New  York  newspapers  from 
New  Orleans  and  Philadelphia  papers,  in  which  cities  the  secret 
order  was  also  an  object  of  curiosity.  Certain  papers  in  those 
cities  learned  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the  society,  the 
number  of  its  degrees  and  certain  of  its  secret  signs  and 
words.  These  revelations  were  copied  in  March,  1854,  by 
the  New  York  Tribune,  whose  editor  was  always  ready  to  at- 
tack nativism.4  These  uncorroborated  accounts  were  not 

1  Times,  1853.  December  23,  p.  8.  *  Herald,  1854,  January  30,  p.  2. 

3  Herald,  1854,  February  23,  p.  I.  *  Tribune,  1854,  March  25,  p.  6. 


OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER 


295] 

enough,  however,  and  the  public  was  still  waiting  when  a  curi- 
ous case  in  the  local  courts  promised  light  upon  the  inmost 
secrets  of  the  unknown  company.  One  John  E.  Elliott  swore 
out  a  warrant  against  three  respectable  citizens  charging  them 
with  burglary.  The  actual  facts  were  that  Elliott  was  grand- 
secretary  of  that  branch  of  the  Know-Nothings  which  ad- 
hered to  the  founder,  Charles  B.  Allen,  and  as  such  he  had 
custody  of  the  secret  ritual.  Suspecting  him  of  an  attempt  to 
sell  the  ritual  a  committee  of  three,  one  of  whom  was  Allen, 
broke  into  his  office  and  carried  away  the  trunk  containing  the 
official  papers.1  These  three  were  the  men  whom  Elliott  ac- 
cused of  burglary.  Of  all  this  the  public  knew  nothing  ex- 
cept that  Elliott  was  an  officer  of  the  unknown  order  and 
might  make  interesting  revelations.  The  interest  in  the  bur- 
glary case  was  intense,  but  the  case  balked  curiosity  com- 
pletely. At  the  second  session  Elliott  failed  to  appear,  and 
the  charges  were  quietly  dismissed. 

Hidden  behind  its  silence  through  all  these  months  of  ques- 
tioning the  Know-Nothing  Order  was  ever  growing.  By  May 
1  ,  1  854,  there  existed  in  New  York  state  fifty-four  scattered 
bodies,2  most  of  which  were  located  in  New  York  city  or  in  the 
counties  lying  adjacent,  where  nativist  sentiment  had  been  fost- 
ered by  the  O.  U.  A.  and  other  nativist  societies.  The  spring 
elections  of  1854  gave  opportunity  for  the  rural  bodies  to  use 
their  power,  but  nowhere  does  their  presence  seem  to  have  at- 
tracted notice  except  in  New  York  and  Westchester  counties. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  leaders  of  the  secret  order  in  New 
York  united  on  a  plan  to  weld  together  its  scattered  forces  into  a 
national  secret  political  federation.  Outside  of  New  York  state 
there  were  branches  of  the  society  located  in  twelve  different 
commonwealths.  Calls  were  issued  for  a  convention  of  New 
York  bodies  to  meet  in  May,  and  for  a  general  convention  to 

1  Times,  1854,  May  18,  p.  8  ;  May  19,  p.  5  ;  May  20,  pp.  5,  8;  Tribune,  1855 
May  20,  p.  5. 

*  Times,  1855,  March  8,  p.  8,  March  16,  p.  3;    May  22,  p.  2. 


gS  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

meet  at  the  same  time.  The  plan  to  put  aside  old  differences 
was  successful.  On  May  nth  the  delegates  of  the  state  com- 
pleted the  work  for  which  they  had  been  called.1  By  their 
action  the  wigwam  branch  and  the  council  branch  were  united 
under  a  single  state  body  called  the  Grand  Council  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  Only  one  body,  the  Seventeenth  ward 
council,  with  300  members,  refused  to  acquiesce.2  The  officers 
of  the  new  Grand  Council  were  all  residents  of  New  York  city: 
James  W.  Barker,  president ;  Joseph  E.  Ebling,  vice-president ; 
Joseph  S.  Taylor,  treasurer,  and  Henry  Farrington,  secretary .2 
The  jurisdiction  of  the  body  covered  the  state.  On  May  I4th 
the  general  convention  met,  with  delegates  present  from  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  District  of  Columbia  and  Ohio.4  It  adjourned  after 
making  arrangements  for  a  fuller  gathering  later.  On  June 
I4th  another  general  convention  was  held  by  delegates  from 
thirteen  states,  who  gathered  at  New  York  city  and  organized 
themselves  as  a  Grand  Council  of  the  United  States.  Of  this 
body,  too,  James  W.  Barker  was  chosen  president.5  On  June 
1 7th  the  delegates  completed  the  organization  of  the  Order  by 
adopting  a  constitution  and  a  new  ritual.6  Under  their  hands 
the  national  Grand  Council  became  a  permanent  body,  hold- 
ing jurisdiction  wherever  the  Order  spread  and  making  unified 
action  by  the  whole  Order  a  possibility. 

In  New  York  state  the  re-organization  was  not  intended  to 
bring  with  it  any  alteration  in  the  methods  of  the  past.  All 
the  ultra-secret  characteristics  of  the  society  were  retained  and 
the  old  idea  of  limited  political  action  was  kept.  The  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  passed  by  the  Grand  Council  of  New 
York  on  June  8th  in  regular  session  : 7 

1  Times,  1855,  March  8,  p.  8.     Also  inaccurate  account  in  Herald,  1856,  June 
3,  p.  10. 

*  Herald,  1854,  December  20,  p.  I.  *  Times,  1854,  October  26,  p.  5. 

*  Carroll,  p.  270.  6  Ibid.  6  Herald,  1854,  September  25,  p.  2. 
T  Times,  1854,  October  23,  p.  I  ;  Herald,  1854,  November  4,  p.  I. 


297]  RISE  °F  THE  KN°W-NOTHING  ORDER  gg 

Resolved,  That  the  principles  of  our  Order,  as  laid  down  in  our  obligations  and 
private  work,  forbid  that  we  should  appear  before  the  public  in  any  respect  as  a 
distinct  body  or  known  organization,  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  the  duty  of  each 
member  of  the  Order  to  set  his  face  against  and  to  strongly  oppose  all  and  every 
effort  to  bring  the  members  of  this  Order  before  the  public  as  a  distinct  political 
body. 

Resolved,  That  the  proper  constitutional  and  political  theater  of  action  of  this 
Order  as  a  body  is  only  inside  of  our  respective  council  rooms,  and  while  our  con- 
stitution and  private  work  remain  as  they  now  are,  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Council 
and  each  subordinate  council  to  oppose  all  efforts  to  draw  us  as  a  body  from  our 
proper  sphere,  and  thus  to  tempt  us  to  commit  a  radical  and  vital  wrong  to  the 
grand  principles  of  secrecy  upon  which  the  whole  superstructure  of  this  organiza- 
tion is  based. 

The  essential  change  which  the  Order  underwent  at  this 
time  was  in  the  form  of  executive  management.  A  number 
of  executive  powers  were  vested  in  the  presidents  of  councils 
and  in  the  president  of  the  Grand  Council.  Under  one  of 
these  powers  Grand  President  Barker  at  once  appointed  depu- 
ties for  counties  and  began  to  build  up  a  systematic  expansion 
of  the  society.1  In  New  York  city  there  was  also  organized 
a  general  executive  committee  with  oversight  over  the  affairs 
of  the  Order  in  the  city.3  Under  this  system  the  grand  presi- 
dent of  the  Order  was  a  strong  executive,  and  Barker  became 
the  soul  of  the  nativist  movement.  Under  the  stimulus  of  his 
executive  genius  the  Order  rapidly  spread  over  the  state.  Be- 
tween the  dates  of  May  1st  and  June  1st,  according  to  one 
authority,  the  number  of  councils  increased  from  54  to  91, 
and  this  increase,  due  largely  to  political  causes,  went  on  by 
leaps  and  bounds  in  the  weeks  following.3  The  Know-Noth- 
ing Order  now  became  a  body  whose  influence  extended  all 
through  the  state,  and  its  leaders  began  to  plan  for  higher 
flights  of  power  than  nativism  had  ever  before  been  able  to 
essay.  At  the  same  time  the  city  of  New  York  remained  for 
a  time  the  center  and  citadel  of  the  secret  order,  where  its  in- 

1  Times,  1855,  March  8,  p.  8.  *  Herald,  1854,  October  30,  p.  I. 

»  Times,  1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 


IOQ  POLITICAL  NATIV1SM  [298 

terests  mainly  lay.  The  maintenance  of  nativist  sentiment 
there  was  a  vital  necessity  to  the  cause  of  organized  nativism. 
Leaving  the  thread  of  narrative  for  a  time,  it  is  well  to  see 
what  manner  of  society  this  was  which  sprang  so  suddenly 
out  of  vacancy  and  stirred  so  deeply  the  popular  thought. 
The  organization  which  was  created  by  the  Know -Nothing 
constitution  of  1854  was  a  political  machine  which  borrowed 
some  features  from  the  O.  U.  A.,  but  which  was  far  more  cen- 
tralized than  the  latter.  The  proper  name  of  the  society  was 
that  of  The  Supreme  Order  of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner.1  It 
was  a  secret,  oath-bound  brotherhood,  whose  aims  were 
wholly  political.  It  had  no  benefit  system  or  social  side  in  its 
scheme  of  effort.  Only  those  could  join  who  were  Americans 
born,  and  who  were  unconnected,  either  personally  or  by  fam- 
ily ties,  with  the  Catholic  system.2  Its  membership  was  a 
graded  one  of  three  ranks.  The  lowest  rank  included  all 
members  of  the  Order.3  Admission  thereto  was  gained  by 
taking  the  obligation  of  the  first  degree.  Next  above  in  rank 
were  those  members  who  were  deemed  competent  to  hold 
ofrlce  in  the  Order.3  Admission  was  gained  by  taking  the 
obligation  of  the  second  degree.  No  one  could  hold 
office  in  the  Order  until  admitted  to  this  degree.  Still  higher 
in  rank  stood  those  members  of  the  Order  who  were  deemed 
competent  to  hold  public  ofrlce  in  the  community.3  Admission 
to  this  class  was  won  by  taking  the  obligation  of  the  third  de- 
gree. Apparently,  no  member  of  the  Order  could  be  en- 
dorsed for  public  office  unless  he  had  been  admitted  to  the 
third  degree.  The  obligation  in  any  one  of  these  three  ranks 
was  conferred  upon  such  persons  as  might  be  proposed  by  a 
brother  of  that  degree  and  found  acceptable  by  a  ballot  of  the 
members  who  already  held  the  degree.* 

1  Herald,  1854,  September  25,  p.  2.  'l  Tribune,  1854,  March  25,  p.  6. 

*  Times,  1855,  May  29,  p.  4. 

4  Times.  1855,  May  22,  p.  2;   1856,  March  3,  p.  3. 


299]  ^ISE  °F  THE  KNOIV-NOTHING  ORDER  IOI 

The  general  membership  of  the  Order  was  organized  on  the  • 
lodge  system.  Each  separate  group  was  called  a  council,  and 
the  councils  in  each  state  were  federated  under  a  supervisory 
body  called  a  grand  council.  Over  and  above  the  grand 
councils  stood  the  Grand  Council  of  the  United  States,  usually 
called  the  National  Council.  Each  subordinate  council  in- 
cluded such  members  of  the  Order  as  resided  in  some  specific 
political  area.  Each  council  was  designated  by  a  number,  and 
existed  by  virtue  of  a  charter  granted  under  the  authority  of 
the  Grand  Council.  It  elected  its  own  officers  and  enacted 
its  own  by-laws,  subject  always  to  the  written  constitutions  of 
the  Grand  Council  and  the  National  Council.  At  ordinary 
sessions  all  members  of  the  council  sat  together  as  a  first- 
degree  council.  Such  members  as  held  the  second  degree 
might  hold  separate  session  for  special  business  as  a  second- 
degree  council.1  Such  sessions,  in  practice,  were  usually  held 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  first-degree  body.2  Probably 
there  was  also  a  third-degree  council  session.3  The  officers  of 
a  council  bore  the  ordinary  titles  of  president,  vice-president, 
and  so  on.  The  president  was  the  executive  head  of  the  body, 
and  not  merely  a  presiding  officer.  He  had  the  custody  of 
the  charter,4  and  of  the  written  ritual,  and  also  had  general 
oversight  of  political  work  in  the  district  over  which  the  coun- 
cil held  authority. 

The  Grand  Council  was  a  representative  body  composed  of 
three  delegates  from  each  council  in  the  state.  The  term  of 
office  of  each  delegate  was  three  years,  and  one  new  one  was 
elected  annually  in  each  council.5  In  this  respect  the  Grand 
Council  was  copied  after  the  Chancery  of  the  O.  U.  A.  The 
Grand  Council  existed  by  virtue  of  a  constitution  which  had 
been  approved  by  vote  in  the  subordinate  councils,  and  which 
could  be  altered  only  after  a  referendum  to  the  councils.  Its 

1  Times,  1855,  May  22,  p.  2.  2  Times,  1855,  July  II,  p.  3. 

*  Times,  1855,  August~3,  p.  3.  *  Times,  1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 

5  Times,  1854,  October  23,  p.  I  ;   1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 


IO2  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

meetings  were  quarterly,  with  special  sessions  when  required. 
In  New  York  state  the  annual  session,  at  which  officers  were 
elected,  took  place  in  February.  The  Grand  Council  elected 
its  own  officers  and  enacted  legislation,  subject  always  to  its 
own  constitution  and  that  of  the  National  Council.  It  en- 
forced discipline,  interpreted  the  laws,  decided  disputes.  In 
general  it  directed  and  co-ordinated  the  work  of  the  Order 
within  the  state.  Its  officers  bore  the  same  titles  as  those  of 
subordinate  councils.  The  president,  who  was  properly 
styled  grand-president,  was  presiding  officer  of  the  Grand 
Council  and  executive  head  of  the  Order.  It  was  his  duty  to 
carry  out  the  orders  of  the  Grand  Council,  and  to  exercise 
general  oversight  over  the  state.  The  work  of  expansion 
came  under  his  eye.  In  his  hands  lay  the  selection  of  district 
deputies,  of  whom  one  was  appointed  in  each  county.1  The 
president  also  assumed  to  appoint  traveling  deputies.  These 
deputies  were,  as  their  name  implies,  holders  of  power  vested 
in  the  president,  and  delegated  to  them  by  him.  Their  special 
duty,  in  practice,  was  to  recruit  the  Order  by  calling  new 
councils  into  existence,  and  to  maintain  enthusiasm  in  those 
already  established.  They  were  personal  representatives  of 
the  president,  and  through  them  the  latter  kept  in  touch  with 
the  remote  sections. 

The  Grand  Council  of  the  United  States,  or  National  Coun- 
cil, existed  by  virtue  of  a  written  constitution  adopted  by  gen- 
eral convention,  and  was  the  highest  body  in  the  Know- 
Nothing  system.  It  was  a  representative  body  composed  of 
delegates  from  each  state  where  the  Order  was  existent.  It 
legislated  on  matters  connected  with  the  secret  ritual  and  also 
discussed  matters  in  which  the  interest  of  the  Order  touched 
national  politics.  It  could  propose  amendments  to  its  own 
constitution,  but  they  must  be  ratified  by  the  various  grand 
councils  before  they  could  become  effective. 

In    its    methods   of  council  procedure    the   Know-Nothing 

1  Times,  1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 


30  1  ] 


OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER 


society  followed  the  usual  ways  of  secret  societies.  The  ex- 
perience of  those  societies  had  evolved  certain  features  as 
necessary  to  preserve  secrecy  in  work.  These  features  in- 
cluded the  use  of  grips,  pass-words,  signs,  phrases  of  recog- 
nition, signals  of  distress,  test  formulae  and  rallying  cries.  All 
these  naturally  found  a  place  in  the  Know-  Nothing  system. 
The  experience  of  other  societies  had  also  evolved  certain 
ceremonial  forms.  There  were  special  formalities  for  opening 
and  closing  the  session  of  a  secret  body,  for  entering  or  retiring 
from  the  meeting,  for  initiating  new  members  and  for  installing 
officers.  These,  too,  found  a  place  in  the  system  of  the  Know- 
Nothings.  Besides  these  features  there  were  some  practices 
which  were  peculiar  to  the  Know-  Nothing  society  alone,  as  a 
result  of  its  ultra-secret  character.  In  other  secret  organiza- 
tions the  members  were  not  supposed  to  conceal  their  con- 
nection, but  the  Know-Nothing  system  endeavored  to  aid 
its  members  in  doing  so.  To  this  end  the  time  and  place  of 
council  sessions  were  not  divulged,  nor  were  public  notices 
issued  calling  the  members  together.  The  custom  was  to 
scatter  about  small  pieces  of  blank  paper  cut  in  shapes  pre- 
viously agreed  upon,  as  a  signal  that  a  meeting  was  at  hand.1 
To  the  same  end  the  name  of  the  secret  order  was  not  divulged 
to  the  initiate  of  the  first  degree.  Even  though  public  rumor 
did  pass  around  the  real  name  of  the  society,  the  first-degree 
member  could  truthfully  claim  to  "  know  nothing  "  of  any 
order  of  that  name. 

In  its  political  work  the  Know-Nothing  system  was  based 
on  the  idea  that  political  policy  should  be  decided  in  an 
orderly  way  by  the  general  voice,  but  enforced  by  the  un- 
hampered act  of  single  executives.  This  idea,  as  applied  to 
local  politics,  was  well  carried  out.  The  Know-Nothing  coun- 
cil in  its  best  days  was,  in  point  of  fairness  and  decency,  a 
vast  improvement  over  the  average  party  caucus  of  the  time. 
Every  voter  in  the  council  had  free  expression,  and  the  ulti- 

1  Times,  1855,  March  17,  p.  4;   Tribune,  1854,  March  25,  p.  6. 


IO4  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [jO2 

mate  decision  was  executed  by  proper  officers  with  energy  and 
system.  The  idea  was  not  so  well  wrought  out,  however,  in 
the  hastily  evolved  machinery  of  the  state  campaign  of  1854. 
The  Know-Nothing  system  on  this  side  was  weaker  than  that 
used  by  the  regular  parties  of  the  day.  At  the  basis  of  the 
political  system  of  the  Order  was  the  council,  which  was  in- 
tended to  control  some  small  political  area.  In  New  York 
city  there  was  one  council  for  each  ward.  In  smaller  cities 
a  single  council  might  cover  several  wards.  In  rural  towns  a 
council  might  cover  as  many  election  districts  as  expediency 
suggested.  Such  matters  as  concerned  only  the  voters  in  the 
small  area  thus  covered  would  be  brought  up  in  first-degree 
council,  debated  and  decided  by  vote  of  those  present.  Where 
there  were  several  councils  in  one  city,  there  was  usually  a 
general  executive  committee,  chosen  annually  and  composed 
of  delegates  from  each  council.  Local  matters  pertaining  to 
the  whole  city  would  be  in  this  case  debated  and  decided  pro- 
visionally in  general  committee  and  then  referred  back  to  the 
various  councils  for  approval  or  disapproval.  In  New  York 
city  the  general  committee  was  composed  of  sixty-six  members, 
being  three  from  each  ward  council.1  For  counties  and  legis- 
lative districts  a  convention  system  was  devised.  For  the 
handling  of  political  matters  for  the  state  at  large  the  Order 
had  no  adequate  system.  The  Grand  Council  took  upon  itself 
the  function  of  a  convention,  but  the  three-year  tenure  of  its 
members  and  the  lack  of  any  complete  or  proportionate  repre- 
sentation made  its  acts,  very  properly,  open  to  bitter  criticism. 
The  execution  of  such  decisions  as  were  formulated  by  the 
councils  or  the  representative  bodies  of  the  Order  was  entrusted 
to  specially  chosen  officials.  In  New  York  city  these  officials 
formed  an  executive  hierarchy  acting  under  an  order  issued  by 
the  general  executive  committee  on  July  17,  1854.*  Under  this 
order  the  Know-Nothing  voters  in  each  ward  were  subdivided 

1  Herald,  1854,  October  30,  p.  I  ;    Times,  1855,  July  19,  p.  3. 
"  Herald,  1854,  October  30,  p.  i. 


303]  RISE  OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER  IO5 

by  election  districts,  and  these  groups  again  subdivided  into 
groups  of  ten.  Over  the  whole  ward  stood  the  president  of 
the  ward  council  as  executive  officer,  with  the  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  council  as  his  executive  assistant.  Over  each 
election  district  was  a  "  superintendent,"  appointed  by  and  re- 
sponsible to  the  president,  who  could  remove  him  at  will. 
Over  each  group  of  ten  voters  was  an  "  assistant,"  appointed 
by  and  responsible  to  the  "  superintendent "  of  the  district. 
Through  these  officers  a  registry  of  voters  was  formed  and 
kept  by  the  corresponding  secretary,  and  by  them  the  Know- 
Nothing  voters  were  marshaled  to  caucus  or  election.  In 
the  rural  districts  the  supervision  of  voters  was  probably  less 
complete,  but  data  are  lacking. 

In  the  management  of  the  voters  the  officials  of  the  Order 
seem  to  have  depended  chiefly  on  the  influence  of  the  pledge 
which  members  of  the  Order  had  taken.  Great  care  was 
taken,  also,  to  keep  before  the  members,  by  means  of  literature 
and  nativist  speeches,  the  ideas  for  which  the  Order  was  sup- 
posed to  stand  and  for  whose  success  the  members'  votes  were 
demanded.  No  formal  platform  was  put  forth,  but  a  formal 
address  was  issued  having  something  of  the  same  character. 
The  pledge  taken  by  the  members  of  the  first  degree  was  prob- 
ably somewhat  indefinite  as  to  the  use  of  the  franchise.  The 
pledge  of  the  second  degree  contained  an  assent  to  the  prom- 
ise "  that  you  will  vote  in  all  political  matters  and  for  all  polit- 
ical offices  for  second-degree  members  of  the  Order,  providing 
it  shall  be  necessary  for  the  American  interest."  x  This  left 
to  the  taker  a  certain  latitude  of  judgment,  which  the  Grand 
'Council  of  October,  1854,  tried  to  narrow  by  a  declaration 
.  that  the  pledge  meant  to  require  the  support  of  all  Know- 
Nothing  nominees.2  This  action  by  the  Grand  Council  was 
the  beginning  of  a  system  of  party  discipline.  After  this  in- 
terpretation it  was  possible  to  expel  any  bolter  from  the  Order 
on  the  ground  that  he  had  violated  his  obligation.  In  No- 

1  Times,  1854,  October  23,  p.  4.  ''•Ibid. 


IO6  POLITICAL  NATIV2SM  [304 

vember,  1854,  the  Grand  Council  elaborated  the  discipline  by 
creating  "the  test."  This  feature  consisted  in  calling  up  any 
member  of  a  council  or  of  the  Grand  Council  in  a  regular  ses- 
sion and  requiring  of  him  a  statement  as  to  how  he  had  cast 
his  vote  at  some  particular  election.1  Expulsion  might  follow 
an  admission  of  disloyalty  to  the  regular  ticket. 

This  description  of  the  secret  machinery  of  the  Know- Noth- 
ings applies  to  the  Order  as  it  existed  during  the  fall  and  win- 
ter of  1854,  when  it  first  began  to  pose  as  a  political  state 
organization.  The  same  description  will  not  fit  the  Order  ac- 
curately at  any  other  time  of  its  career,  for  its  machinery  was 
continually  in  evolution.  The  exigencies  of  political  struggle 
were  continually  bringing  out  points  in  the  secret  machinery 
where  it  was  hampered  in  its  political  efforts.  The  tendency, 
therefore,  was  always  in  the  direction  of  assimilating  its  struc- 
ture to  that  of  the  regular  political  parties  of  the  day.  The 
secret  system  in  its  most  typical  form  was  that  here  given. 
As  a  machine  it  was  far  better  adapted  to  local  than  to  state 
political  work.  Its  purpose  was  to  secure  unity  and  vigor  in 
the  control  of  votes,  and  under  shrewd  management  it  had  tre 
mendous  capabilities  in  this  direction.  It  was  weak,  however, 
as  a  state  society,  because  it  had  no  equitable  method  of  de- 
ciding matters  of  state  politics.  The  Grand  Council  was  not 
properly  constituted  for  nominating  tickets.  Probably  the 
greatest  source  of  'danger  in  the  whole  system  was  the  power 
that  fell  to  the  grand-president.  His  appointment  of  district 
deputies  enabled  him  during  the  period  of  expansion  to  man- 
ipulate the  county  delegations  and  exercise  undue  influence 
over  the  Grand  Council.  The  degree  system  of  the  Order 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  danger,  although  it  would  seem 
naturally  to  foster  cliques.  There  certainly  were  cliques  in 
the  Order,  but  their  existence  seems  to  have  depended  on  per- 
sonal influence  and  never  on  the  artificial  distinction  of  a  de- 

1  Times,  1854,  December  4,  p.  I  ;   1855,  March  8,  p.  8;    Tribune,  1855,  Octo- 
ber 6,  p.  5. 


305]  #ISE  OF  THE  KNOW-NOTHING  ORDER  IO/ 

gree.  In  this  machine,  too,  the  rights  of  the  individual  were 
safeguarded,  and  this  is  strongly  in  its  favor.  The  individual 
voter  in  the  secret  order  had  probably  more  real  influence 
upon  politics  than  the  average  individual  in  the  parties  outside 
the  Order. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1854 

THE  entry  of  nativism  into  the  field  of  state  politics  in  New 
York  was  at  a  time  when  the  old  parties  were  disintegrating. 
Its  phenomenal  success  in  winning  voters  to  its  service  was 
due  to  the  weakness  of  those  older  party  systems  which  nativ- 
ism tried  to  displace.  Its  history  as  a  factor  in  state  affairs  is 
for  a  time  inextricably  mingled  with  that  of  the  factional  di- 
visions in  the  older  parties.  When  the  year  1854  opened, 
nativism  had  no  place  in  state  politics.  The  field  was  occu- 
pied almost  exclusively  by  the  two  great  national  parties,  al- 
ready, however,  weakened  and  divided  by  the  rivalries  among 
their  leaders.  For  the  time  there  were  no  great  issues  insist- 
ently pressing  for  notice  and  holding  together  the  uncon- 
genial elements  in  either  party.  The  unity  of  party  manage- 
ment was  already  broken  when  leaders  in  the  same  party 
stood  at  open  enmity.  The  voting  strength  of  each  side,  it 
was  true,  showed  no  great  change  as  yet,  but  in  the  absence 
of  any  unifying  principles  the  voters  were  attached  to  their 
respective  parties  only  by  the  weak  tie  of  fealty  to  names  and 
traditions.  On  the  Democratic  side  a  faction  fight  had  dis- 
rupted the  party  in  1853.  Two  separate  divisions,  called  in 
popular  phrase  Hard-Shells  and  Soft-Shells,  now  duplicated 
the  party  organizationjmd  maintained  their  respective  claims 
to  the  party  name.  <Tkis  division  represented  nothing  more 
u  than  the  opposition  of  certain  leaders  to  each  other)  On  the 
Whig  side  there  was  no  open  break  in  the  unity  of  the  organ- 
ization, but  there  existed  two  bitterly  antagonistic  factions. 
One  of  these,  headed  by  William  H.  Seward,  bore  in  political 
i 08  [306 


307]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1834  1 09 

slang  the  name  of  Woolly-Heads.  The  other,  headed  by 
Millard  Fillmore,  bore  the  nick-name  of  Silver-Grays.  Here 
again  there  was  no  real  principle  at  issue  between  the  two. 
The  division  stood  only  for  a  rivalry  of  leaders.  With  the 
two  old  parties  in  this  weakened  and  divided  condition,  it  was 
to  be  expected  that  on  the  appearance  of  any  new  and  living 
issue  in  politics  it  would  be  seized  upon  by  one  or  another  of 
the  struggling  elements  as  an  aid  to  success  over  the  oppo- 
sition. The  political  history  of  New  York  during  1854  deals 
with  the  appearance  of  three  living  issues  in  state  politics,  and 
with  their  peculiar  effects  upon  the  old  party  organizations. 
The  temperance  issue  in  state  politics  began  to  take  definite 
form  in  1853.  For  a  number  of  years  previous  there  had  ex- 
isted several  voluntary  societies,  both  secret  and  non-secret, 
extending  over  the  whole  state.  Under  their  shelter  there 
had  grown  up  an  agitation  in  favor  of  the  restriction  of  liquor- 
selling.  At  first  this  movement  was  non-political,  but  after  a 
time  it  began  in  various  localities  to  express  itself  at  the  elec- 
tions of  local  and  legislative  tickets.  Then  a  state  organiza- 
tion was  formed,  which  assumed  to  encourage  political  action 
of  this  sort.  Thus  a  loosely  organized  political  movement 
came  into  being.  It  did  not  seek  to  become  a  separate  politi- 
cal party,  but  it  drew  to  itself  members  of  both  parties  with- 
out disturbing  old  affiliations.  The  legislature  which  met  at 
the  beginning  of  1854  had  several  members  who  were  under 
pledges  to  this  movement  as  a  result  of  its  political  efforts. 
Upon  their  initiative  and  with  the  approval  of  Senator  Seward, 
the  Whigs  of  the  legislature  joined  in  framing  a  prohibitory 
liquor  law.  The  law  itself  was  killed  by  the  Democratic  gover- 
nor, but  the  Whig  leaders  had  won  the  favor  of  the  organized 
temperance  vote  by  their  action  and  had  paved  the  way  for  the 
absorption  of  the  temperance  issue  by  the  Whig  organization 
should  it  be  deemed  desirable.  Encouraged  by  their  experi- 
ence, the  leaders  of  the  temperance  movement  were  preparing  in 
the  summer  of  1854  to  nominate  a  state  ticket  for  the  fall  elec- 


IIO  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  £308 

tion.  The  issue  of  temperance,  thus  brought  fairly  into  state 
politics  by  the  Whigs,  tended  to  cut  across  party  lines.  There 
were  thousands  of  voters  whose  fealty  to  party  names  would 
be  broken  by  their  liking  or  dislike  for  a  prohibitory  law. 
This  issue  had  therefore  a  tendency  to  break  down  old  lines. 
The  anti-slavery  issue  had  found  expression  in  state  politics 
long  before  1854,  but  events  had  so  relegated  it  to  the  back- 
ground that  it  was,  at  the  beginning  of  1854,  hardly  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  great  issue.  In  its  abolition  phase  it  was  the  tenet 
of  the  little  group  which  called  itself  the  Liberty  Party,  and 
in  its  free-soil  phase  it  was  the  chief  theory  of  the  larger 
group  of  the  Free  Democrats,  but  in  its  anti-expansion  phase 
it  had  been  out  of  politics  since  the  compromise  of  1850. 
Early  in  1854  the  congressional  contest  over  the  Nebraska 
Bill  revived  the  issue  of  opposition  to  slavery  expansion.  In 
various  portions  of  New  York  state  public  meetings  were  held 
to  arouse  sentiment.  Senator  Seward  was  a  vigorous  oppo- 
nent of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  and  very  early  it  was  noticeable 
that  his  political  friends  in  New  York  were  aiding  to  make 
anti-slavery  an  issue  in  politics.1  By  the  summer  of  1854  the 
anti-Nebraska  general  committee  of  New  York  city  was  en- 
gaged in  organizing  local  committees  in  the  interior  counties, 
and  the  work  was  taking  definite  form  as  an  organized  political 
movement,  drawing  strength  from  both  the  older  parties,  but 
directed  very  largely  by  the  Seward  Whigs.  This  issue  cut 
across  old  party  lines  far  more  strongly  than  the  temperance 
issue  was  doing.2  Among  politicians  of  the  Whig  Party  the 
Seward  men  were  anti-slavery,  while  the  Silver-Grays  tended 
toward  views  more  friendly  to  the  South.  Among  Demo- 
cratic politicians  the  Soft-Shells,  who  held  federal  patronage, 
followed  the  lead  of  President  Pierce  in  favoring  the  South, 
while  the  Hard-Shells  stood  uncertainly  aloof  in  contrast. 
Among  the  voters  the  issue  found  supporters  and  opponents 
in  every  faction.  The  more  earnest  ones  inclined  to  ally 

1  Herald,  1854,  April  13,  p.  4.  2  Post,  1854,  June  26,  p.  2. 


309]  THE  s  TA  ']E  CAMPAIGN  OF  1854  !  \  \ 

themselves  with   the  so-called  anti -Nebraska  movement,  and 
under  the  influence  of  this  issue  party  fealties  gave  way. 

The  cohesion  of  the  old  parties  was  already  being  under- 
mined by  the  temperance  and  anti-slavery  issues  when  nativ- 
ism  came  into  the  field.  The  re-organization  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  society  in  May,  1854,  and  the  accession  of  James  W. 
Barker  to  power  were  the  conditions  that  brought  the  nativist 
issue  to  the  front.  In  the  earlier  months  of  1854  there  had 
been  branches  of  the  secret  order  established  in  some  of  the 
Hudson  River  towns,  but  their  purpose  seems  to  have  been 
local  effort  only.  After  the  accession  of  Barker  he  appointed 
his  district  deputies  for  each  county  and  systematically  organ- 
ized the  expansion  of  the  society.  Councils  at  once  began  to 
multiply  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  On  June  1st  there  were 
91  councils  in  the  state.  By  July  1 2th  there  were  152.  By 
August  1st  there  were  20 1.1  The  secret  of  this  success  lay  in 
the  fact  that  the  new  movement  received  the  hearty  aid  of  the 
Silver- Gray  politicians,2  who  saw  in  it  a  chance  to  fight  Sew- 
ard.  Nativism  looked  with  most  unfriendly  eye  upon  the 
great  Whig  leader.  He  was  an  open  friend  of  the  Irish  ele- 
ment and  of  its  ecclesiastical  leaders.  He  had  fought  the  na- 
tivist idea  during  the  old  American  Republican  movement  of 
1843-47,  and  had  maintained  consistently  the  same  attitude 
toward  it  ever  after.  It  was  a  certain  fact  that  political  nativ- 
ism  would  be  repudiated  and  crushed  wherever  the  friends  of 
Seward  had  the  power.  The  factional  opponents  of  Seward 
were  right  in  their  approval  of  the  new  movement  as  one  likely 
to  aid  their  ends.  The  Democratic  Party  in  the  interior  coun- 
ties was  also  affected  by  the  secret  movement,  but  far  less  than 
was  the  Whig  Party.  The  Soft-Shell  managers  condemned 
nativism  early  in  the  summer,3  before  the  Order  had  fairly 
begun  its  marvellous  expansion,  but  were  less  outspoken  later. 
The  Hard-Shell  managers  were  guardedly  friendly,  hoping  to 

1  Times,  1855,  MaX  22»  P-  2-  *  Herald,  1854,  August  30,  p.  2. 

•  Post,  1854,  May  12,  p.  3,  September  20,  p.  2  ;  Herald,  1854,  July  4,  p.  2. 


II2  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [jlo 

profit  by  the  new  movement.  Politicians  on  all  sides  thus 
regulated  their  attitude  toward  nativism  according  to  the  way 
in  which  it  seemed  likely  to  help  or  hinder  their  factional  in- 
terests. Like  temperance  and  anti-slavery,  it  was  an  issue 
which  worked  against  the  coherence  of  the  old  parties. 

Among  the  masses  of  the  voters  other  considerations 
helped  the  Know-Nothing  expansion.1  Taking  the  interior 
counties  as  a  whole  there  was  no  natural  basis  for  a  widespread 
nativist  sentiment.  Except  in  the  towns  along  the  line  of  the 
Erie  canal,  the  foreign-born  element  was  very  small  and  not 
especially  objectionable.  In  the  canal  towns  the  Irish  element 
was  more  or  less  unpopular,  and  here  there  might  be  a  genu- 
ine feeling  of  nativism,  but  in  general  the  spread  of  the  secret 
movement  was  not  due  to  actual  dislikes.  It  was  the  peculiar 
secret  character  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order  which  proved  a 
magnet  to  the  country  voters.  The  idea  of  secret  politics  was 
a  novelty,  and  human  nature  was  responsive  to  novelty.  The 
mysterious  manner  of  the  Order's  workings,  the  dramatic  suc- 
cesses that  it  won,  the  patriotic  professions  that  surrounded  its 
efforts  all  combined  to  throw  about  the  organization  an  irre- 
sistible attraction.  The  doctrine  of  nativism,  too,  was  one 
about  which  there  could  be  no  great  differences  of  opinion 
among  native-born  Protestants.  There  might  be  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  expediency  of  forcing  that  doctrine  to  the 
front,  but  the  abstract  idea  of  protecting  American  institutions 
against  "  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence"  was  beyond 
criticism.  In  this  respect  the  nativist  issue  had  an  advantage 
over  the  issues  of  temperance  and  anti-slavery,  both  of  which 
were  open  to  opposing  views  as  to  their  merits.  There  were 
also  some  less  serious  aspects  of  the  nativist  movement  which 
appealed  to  voters.  The  American  idea  of  humor  was  pleased 
by  the  chagrin  which  the  secret  order  brought  to  the  prac- 
ticed politicians  of  the  older  parties.  For  years  the  average 

1  An  editorial  in  Times ,  1854,  December  6,  p.  4,  is  one  of  the  fairest  of  the  con- 
temporary comments  upon  nativism  and  the  causes  of  its  expansion. 


3u]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1834  ng, 

country  voter  had  been  subject  to  the  management  of  local 
cliques  or  leaders,  and  had  been  forced  to  bear  the  restraints 
of  party  discipline.  Now,  silently,  the  bonds  were  broken. 
Before  the  mysterious  potency  of  council  caucus  the  plans  of 
the  old  managers  were  shattered.  As  time  went  on  the  local 
elections  throughout  the  state  gave  opportunity  for  the  coun- 
cils to  use  their  influence.  To  the  average  voter  there  was  a 
delightful  humor  in  the  situation  when  the  local  managers, 
after  days  of  patient  work  in  caucus  and  convention,  found  all 
their  plans  frustrated  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  some  ticket 
which  had  not  been  heard  of  until  the  morning  of  election  day. 
To  many  the  Know-Nothing  movement  was  a  huge  joke  upon 
the  community,  harmless  because  thoroughly  American,  and 
useful  because  it  broke  up  old  cliques  and  promised  the  voter 
greater  share  in  making  nominations.  With  the  aid  of  men 
who  opposed  the  Seward  leadership  the  Know-Nothing  Order 
easily  found  a  footing  in  many  of  the  counties.  Its  councils 
easily  picked  officers  from  among  men  who  had  been  drilled  in 
secret  work  by  the  presence  of  other  secret  societies  in  the 
smaller  towns.  Under  competent  directors  the  secret  assem- 
blies, sitting  mysteriously  in  secluded  halls  or  lodge  rooms,  in 
stores,  offices,  barns  or  wherever  else  secrecy  required,  gath- 
ered the  voters  by  thousands  into  secret  conclaves.  The 
growth  of  the  movement  went  forward  without  fluctuation  or 
reverse. 

In  the  first  weeks  of  the  campaign  of  1854  the  situation  in 
state  politics  was  confused.  The  fact  that  old  parties  were 
divided  and  weakened,  the  fact  that  new  movements  were 
organized  for  aggressive  work,  the  fact  that  the  fate  of  party 
tickets  must  depend  upon  concessions  and  combinations,  all 
tended  to  obscure  the  future  course  of  politics.  On  every  hand 
the  political  workers  and  the  party  press  waited  with  guarded 
utterance  to  see  how  events  would  shape  themselves.  Each 
party  and  each  movement  had  declared  for  state  conventions. 
At  these  conventions,  presumably,  the  combinations  would 


JI4  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

gradually  reveal  themselves.  On  July  I2th  the  first  one  of  this 
series  of  conventions,  that  of  the  Hard-Shell  Democracy,  was 
held,  but  its  managers  adopted  a  non-committal  policy  that  did 
not  clarify  the  political  situation.  As  to  temperance  and 
nativism  the  platform  was  silent.1  As  to  anti-slavery,  it  was 
evasive.  The  state  ticket  named  by  the  convention  was  one 
whose  members  were  not  committed  in  favor  of  or  in  opposition 
to  the  new  issues  that  had  come  up.  The  convention  left  the 
Hard-Shell  organization  as  devoid  of  official  principles  after  as 
before  it  met.  The  half-party  was  playing  a  waiting  game. 
Its  nominees  were  practically  free  to  adopt  any  principles 
which  later  expediency  might  suggest.  On  August  i6th  the 
anti-slavery  movement  was  represented  by  the  Anti-Nebraska 
convention,  which  met,  debated  and  adjourned  to  a  later  date 
without  naming  a  ticket.  The  proceedings  of  this  session  par- 
tially revealed  the  policy  of  the  movement.  The  leaders  con- 
templated naming  a  ticket  upon  which  the  anti-expansion  and 
free-soil  phases  of  anti-slavery  could  be  united.2  The  movement 
was  intended  to  draw  support  from  both  the  national  parties, 
and  to  disregard  old  party  lines,  but  the  prominence  of  Seward 
Whigs  in  the  convention  made  it  reasonably  certain  that  the 
movement  would  eventually  aid  the  political  plans  of  Senator 
Seward.  On  September  /th  the  convention  of  the  Soft-Shell 
Democracy  followed.  It  stood  definitely  and  plainly  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  three  issues.3  By  its  disapproval  of  the  temperance 
issue  the  half-party  assured  the  favor  of  all  who  opposed 
restrictive  legislation.  By  its  disapproval  of  nativism  it  reas- 
sured the  Irish  vote.  By  its  pro-slavery  attitude  it  expressed 
faithfulness  to  President  Pierce. 

All  eyes  now  turned  to  the  Whig  convention,  which  was  to 
meet  on  September  2Oth.  The  adoption  of  nativism  by  the 
Silver-Gray  faction  was  recognized,  and  it  was  understood  that 

1  Tribune,  1854,  July  13,  p.  5. 
*  Tribune,  1854,  August  17,  p.  4. 
3  Tribune,  1854,  September  8,  p.  5. 


3  1 3]  THE  STA  TE  CAMPAIGN  OF  rSji  !  1 5 

if  the  Know-Nothings  could  capture  the  Whig  convention 
they  would  deal  a  blow  to  Seward's  plans.  The  antipathy 
between  Seward  and  the  nativists  was  well  known.  Seward 
had  on  July  1 2th  taken  pains  to  denounce  nativism  in  remarks 
made  by  him  in  the  United  States  Senate.  On  the  other  side, 
the  nativist  leaders  frankly  denounced  Seward  as  a  demagogue 
who  truckled  to  foreign  influence  for  his  own  ends.  "  If  there 
is  anything  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  Know-Nothings,"  said  one 
paper,  after  discussing  the  Seward  clique,  "  it  is  to  write  the 
political  epitaphs  of  the  noted  political  leaders  to  whom  we 
have  alluded."1  The  Whig  state  convention  was  to  be  the 
pivotal  point  of  the  campaign.  If  the  Know-Nothings  and 
their  allies  could  control  the  convention,  then  Seward  must 
accept  defeat  or  else  make  a  new  party  based  on  his  anti-sla- 
very movement.  If  the  Know-Nothings  should  lose  the  con- 
vention then  they  must  accept  defeat  or  else  seek  new  combina- 
tions. This  latter  emergency  was  supposed  to  be  the  one  for 
which  the  Hard-Shell  Democracy  was  waiting,  and  for  which 
its  leaders  had  held  themselves  non-committal  on  nativism.1 
The  press  discussed  a  possible  coalition  of  Know-Nothings, 
Hard-Shell  Democrats,  and  Silver-Gray  Whigs  to  defeat 
Seward.  The  very  suggestion  of  such  a  union  showed  strik- 
ingly how  the  old  ideas  of  party  fealty  had  broken  down.  It 
was  a  time  of  transition,  in  which  parties  were  re  arranging 
themselves.  In  the  fore  part  of  September  the  party  delegates 
to  the  coming  convention  were  elected  throughout  the  state. 
Many  of  them  were  Know-Nothings,  but  at  this  point  it  became 
known  that  the  rapid  growth  of  the  secret  order  had  carried  into 
its  councils  a  considerable  element  of  Seward  Whigs  who  were 
not  disposed  to  array  themselves  against  that  leader.  When 
the  returns  came  in  from  the  district  conventions  it  was  found 
that  although  many  Know- Nothings  were  among  the  delegates 
yet  the  convention  would  stand  two  to  one  in  favor  of  Seward's 

1  Buffalo  Commercial,  quoted  in  Tribune ,  1854,  August  31,  p.  4. 
1  Times,  1854,  August  26,  p.  4;   Tribune,  1854,  August  19,  p.  5. 


Il6  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM  ['^14 

plans.  It  was  probably  in  the  short  interval  between  the  election 
of  delegates  and  the  meeting  of  the  convention  that  the  Know- 
Nothing  managers  in  New  York  city  decided  to  run  a  state 
ticket  independent  of  all  other  parties.  The  Whig  convention 
met  at  Syracuse  on  September  2Oth.  The  Know-Nothing  forces 
went  there  unorganized.  There  seems,  in  fact,  to  have  been  no 
intention  of  making  any  serious  opposition  to  the  Seward  in- 
terest. On  the  evening  before  the  session  began  a  caucus  was 
held  by  the  out-and-out  Know- Nothings.1  There  were  only 
twenty-three  of  them,  all  from  New  York  and  adjacent  counties. 
They  failed  to  agree  upon  a  nominee,  and  adjourned  with  the 
understanding  that  after  the  first  ballot  they  should  unite  upon 
whatever  member  of  the  Order  should  have  received  the  highest 
vote  on  the  first  ballot.  Next  day  the  convention  organized  and 
proceeded  to  vote  on  a  nomination  for  governor.  The  Seward 
managers  put  forward  Myron  H.  Clark,  of  Ontario,  a  member 
of  the  state  senate,  a  supporter  of  Seward,  a  member  of  the 
Know-Nothing  Order,  an  advocate  of  temperance  and  a  friend 
of  anti-slavery.  Clark's  candidacy  met  general  favor.  On 
the  first  formal  ballot  his  name  led  the  list,  whereupon  the 
uativist  delegates  fell  into  the  current  of  the  hour  and  helped 
his  nomination.  For  lieutenant  governor  the  convention  nom- 
inated Henry  J.  Raymond,  of  the  New  York  Times,  whose 
paper  had  steadily  favored  nativism  in  New  York  city.  The 
platform  omitted  all  reference  either  to  nativism  or  to  temper- 
ance.3 The  Whig  convention  adjourned  after  a  most  peace- 
ful session.  The  political  combination  of  Silver-Grays  and 
Barker  Know-Nothings  had  lost  every  point.  At  the  same 
time  the  platform  by  mere  silence  made  distinct  concessions 
to  nativist  sentiment.  It  looked  as  if  the  unexpected  might 
take  place,  as  if  the  Seward  clique  and  the  Barker  clique  might 
find  themselves  working  side  by  side  to  make  Clark's  elec- 
tion sure.  It  was  certainly  no  more  marvelous  for  the  Know- 

1  Times,  1854,  September  20,  p.  I ;   1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 
1  Tribune,  1854,  September  21,  p.  I. 


3  1 5]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1854  \\>j 

Nothing  Order  to  support  a  Seward  man  than  for  the  Seward 
men  to  support  a  Know-Nothing. 

The  effect  of  Seward's  concessions  to  nativist  sentiment  was 
to  keep  on  his  side  those  Know-Nothings  who  had  been 
friendly  to  him  before,  but  not  to  change  appreciably  the  atti- 
tude of  his  old  opponents,  the  Silver-Grays,  now  become  Know- 
Nothings.  The  machinery  of  the  secret  order  was  in  control  of 
the  anti-Seward'  element,  and  not  long  after  the  Whig  conven- 
tion the  call  went  out  for  a  special  session  of  the  Grand  Council 
at  New  York  city  on  October  4th.  Under  the  directions  of 
Grand  President  Barker  the  district  deputies  of  the  Order  were 
very  busy  during  the  month  of  September.  Up  to  August 
1 8th  there  had  been  201  councils  established.  During  the 
following  weeks  the  efforts  of  the  deputies  raised  the  total, 
until  by  October  4th  there  had  been  no  less  than  563  bodies 
organized.1  Many  of  the  new  councils  had  naturally  very 
few  members.  Nine  men  were  sufficient  under  the  law  of  the 
Order  to  constitute  a  council.  Each  one,  whatever  its  mem- 
bership, was  entitled  to  its  three  representatives  in  Grand 
Council,  and  could  cast  as  large  a  vote  there  as  the  older 
bodies  with  their  hundreds  of  members.  There  is  a  possibility 
that  this  rapid  growth  of  the  Order  was  a  natural  one,  but  the 
opponents  of  the  Barker  clique  ever  afterward  insisted  that  it 
was  a  device  to  pack  the  Grand  Council  for  certain  purposes. 
They  pointed  out  that  Barker  selected  the  district  deputies  of 
the  Order ;  that  the  district  deputies  selected  the  nine  men 
who  made  up  each  new  council ;  that  five  black-balls  could 
defeat  the  admission  of  any  who  were  against  Barker,  and  that 
the  council  so  nicely  packed  could  send  three  delegates  to  the 
Grand  Council  to  aid  Barker's  plans.  These  facts  were  all 
true,  but  the  inference  was  unproven.  There  were  certainly 
plans  on  foot  before  the  Grand  Council  met,  however,  which 
contemplated  a  departure  from  the  usual  custom  of  endorsing 
nominees  of  the  regular  parties  and  proposed  instead  a  sepa- 

1  Times  t  1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 


Ug  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

rate  nativist  state  ticket.  Of  this  the  proof  is  a  report  made  in 
the  Executive  Convention  of  the  O.  U.  A.  on  October  2d, 
which  stated  that  a  committee  had  been  working  for  that  pur- 
pose.1 It  may  be  mentioned  that  Barker,  Ullman  and  others 
of  the  nativist  leaders  in  New  York  city  were  members  of 
Washington  Chapter,  No.  2,  the  largest,  wealthiest  and  most 
influential  of  the  O.  U.  A.  bodies.  To  the  general  public  this 
plan  was  not  known.  Men  looked  to  see  the  Grand  Council 
endorse  for  governor  either  Clark,  the  Whig  nominee,  or 
Bronson,  the  Hard-Shell  nominee.  Thus  far  the  plans  of 
Seward  were  most  successful.  The  nomination  of  Clark  by 
the  Whig  state  convention  had  been  seconded  by  the  Temper- 
ance state  convention,  by  the  Anti-Nebraska  state  convention 
and  by  the  Free  Democratic  state  convention.  Clark  was  the 
head  of  a  coalition  made  up  of  the  Whig  Party  and  of  two 
organized  movements,  and  he  was  also  a  Know- Nothing  him- 
self, yet  his  election  was  doubtful  if  the  secret  order  declared 
against  him.  Bronson,  the  nominee  of  the  Hard-Shell  Dem- 
ocracy, was  credited  with  a  desire  for  Know-Nothing  support, 
which  would  put  him  into  office,  and  with  a  willingness  to 
pledge  himself  to  secure  that  support.  So,  to  the  public,  it 
looked  like  a  choice  between  Clark  and  Bronson. 

The  Grand  Council  met  on  October  4th  at  Odd  Fellows' 
Hall,  in  New  York  city.  The  first  day  and  part  of  the  second 
were  taken  up  by  the  usual  routine  of  organizing  the  grand 
body  of  a  secret  order.  Credentials  were  received  and  doubt- 
ful claims  decided.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  existence  of 
illegal  councils  began  to  be  noticed.  As  a  rule,  they  seem  to 
have  owed  their  existence  to  secessions  from  regular  councils, 
or  to  informalities  in  their  erection.  The  most  notable  case  of 
this  sort  was  the  council  at  Canandaigua,  in  which  Myron  H. 
Clark  held  membership.  This  council  was  declared  illegal,  on 
the  ground  that  its  members  had  received  the  secrets  of  the 
Order  from  persons  not  authorized  to  give  them,  and  that  it  de- 

1  Executive  Records  of  O.  U.  A. 


317]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1834 

sired  recognition  merely  in  order  to  advance  the  ends  of  politi- 
cal demagogues.1  The  declaration  against  the  local  council  at 
Canandaigua  had  its  real  significance  in  the  fact  that  it  did 
away  with  all  claims  that  Clark,  as  a  member  of  the  Order,  was 
entitled  to  its  support.  After  the  roll  was  purged  there  were 
found  to  be  515  legitimate  living  councils.  Had  the  Grand 
Council  membership  been  full  there  would  have  been  1545 
delegates.  The  actual  attendance  was  953  delegates,  repre- 
senting 469  councils.  From  the  reports  made  by  the  mem- 
bers the  strength  of  the  Order  at  date  was  officially  estimated 
at  73,860  men.  As  soon  as  the  roll  of  delegates  had  been 
completed  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  an  address. 
Then  the  Council  passed  to  matters  political.  First  a  resolu- 
tion was  offered  to  take  no  action  on  the  matter  of  a  state 
ticket.  The  suggestion  was  promptly  voted  down.  Then 
came  a  resolution  to  form  a  separate  state  ticket,  and  this 
started  a  tumult  which  turned  the  Grand  Council  into  pande- 
monium. Those  who  had  expected  the  Grand  Council  calmly 
to  assume  the  position  of  arbiter  in  state  politics  now  saw 
that  the  leaders  of  the  Order  had  determined  upon  quite  a  dif- 
ferent course  and  were  supported  in  their  policy  by  a  power- 
ful element.  An  acrimonious  and  excited  debate  followed. 
Those  who  opposed  a  separate  ticket  were  the  Seward  Whigs, 
who  hoped  for  an  endorsement  of  Clark ;  the  Hard-Shell 
Democrats,  who  hoped  for  an  endorsement  of  Bronson ;  and 
the  conservative  nativists  of  all  factions,  who  did  not  wish  the 
Order  to  develop  into  an  independent  party.  Those  who  de- 
sired a  separate  ticket  were  the  Soft-Shell  Democrats  and  the 
Silver-Gray  Whigs,  both  of  whom  feared  the  bias  of  the  Coun- 
cil in  favor  of  Clark.  The  vote  of  the  Council  carried  the 
resolution  in  favor  of  a  separate  ticket',  whereupon  nearly  one- 
half  of  the  delegates  refused  to  take  further  share  in  the  Coun- 
cil business  and  withdrew.  After  their  departure  matters  went 

1  Herald,    1854,  September  27,  p.  I ;  October   27,  p.   I  ;    Courier- Enquirer, 
1854,  October  21,  p.  2. 


120  POLITICAL  N ATI V ISM  [3x8 

on  more  smoothly.  A  vote  was  at  once  taken  on  the  nomina- 
tion for  governor,  and  Daniel  Ullman,  having  received  256 
votes  out  of  514  and  having  a  plurality,  was  declared  the 
choice  of  the  Order.  Ullman  was  present  and  promptly  ac- 
cepted the  nomination.  This  closed  the  second  day's  session. 
On  the  third  day  the  Grand  Council  named  three  other  nomi- 
nees for  the  state  ticket  and  then  adjourned.1  At  some  time 
during  the  three  days'  session  a  resolution  was  passed,  evi- 
dently suggested  by  the  fact  of  opposition  to  the  new  ticket 
and  intended  to  counteract  that  opposition : 

Resolved,  That  the  clause  contained  in  the  second-degree  obligation,  which 
reads  as  follows,  "  And  that  you  will  vote  in  all  political  matters  for  all  political 
offices  for  second-degree  members  of  the  Order,  providing  it  shall  be  necessary 
for  the  American  interest,"  requires  every  member  of  this  Order  to  vote  for  can- 
didates for  charter  and  all  other  offices  endorsed  or  put  in  nomination  by  the 
council  of  the  ward  or  district  for  which  such  officers  are  to  be  elected,  and  every 
person  violating  this  resolution  shall  be  expelled  from  the  Order. 

This  resolution2  was  the  first  of  the  disciplinary  laws  which 
were  enacted  from  time  to  time  to  stifle  opposition  to  the  cen- 
tral power.  In  a  secret  society  the  most  effective  way  of  disci- 
plining a  member  is  upon  charges  alleging  a  violation  of  the  sol- 
emn pledge  that  the  member  has  made  to  his  brethren.  Under 
the  second-degree  oath  the  member  did  not  give  up  the  right 
of  private  judgment  as  to  the  use  of  his  vote,  but  this  resolu- 
tion interpreted  that  right  away  from  him.  The  resolution  was 
framed  to  permit  the  exercise  of  discipline  over  bolters.  Its 
adoption  shows  interestingly  how  the  Barker  clique  was  grasp- 
ing at  power. 

The  ticket  nominated  by  the  Grand  Council  was  a  thor- 
oughly respectable  one,  neither  weak  nor  strong.  The  names 
which  received  a  place  on  it  were  as  follows : 

1  For  details  of  Council  session  in  addition  to  daily  news  reports  :  Herald,  1854, 
October  31,  p.  I  ;  Times,  1854,  October  10,  p.  2  ;  October  23,  p.  I  ;  November 
2,  p.  4  ;  1855,  May  22,  p.  2. 

1  Text  in  Times,  1854,  October  23,  p.  4. 


319]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1854  I2i 

Governor Daniel  Ullman  of  New  York. 

Lieut. -Governor Gustavus  A.  Scroggs  of  Erie. 

Canal  Commis'r Josiah  B.  Williams  of  Tompkins. 

Prison  Inspector Jarnes  P.  Saunders  of  Westchester. 

These  nominees  were  selected  to  represent  each  one  of  the 
four  factions  of  the  older  parties.  Daniel  Ullman  was  the  best 
known  man  of  the  four.  He  was  a  New  York  attorney  and  a 
leader  among  the  Silver- Gray  Whigs.  He  had  never  held  any 
important  office,  but  had  been  high  in  party  councils  and  had 
once  been  the  Whig  nominee  for  attorney-general.  Of  his  ca- 
pabilities for  the  chief  place  in  the  state  government  no  denial 
was  made  by  his  opponents.  Gustavus  A.  Scroggs  was  a  Buf- 
falo man  and  a  Hard-Shell  Democrat.  Though  scarcely 
known  outside  of  his  own  county  he  was  at  home  very  popular 
as  a  local  politician  and  as  an  officer  in  the  state  militia.  His 
selection  was  made  as  a  recognition  of  the  western  counties, 
where  much  of  the  Know-Nothing  strength  lay.  Josiah  B.  1 
Williams,  nominee  for  the  canal  office,  was  a  local  capitalist  of 
Ithaca  and  a  state  senator.  He  was  a  well-known  Seward  Whig, 
with  a  wide  acquaintance  in  the  southern  tier  of  counties,  but 
he  had  never  posed  as  a  representative  of  nativism.  Williams 
held  his  nomination  under  advisement  for  some  time,  and  then 
declined  it  about  two  weeks  before  election.1  The  Know- 
Nothing  managers  then  put  in  his  place  the  name  of  Clark 
Burnham,  of  Sherburne,  the  regular  nominee  of  the  Hard- 
Shell  Democracy.  The  insufficient  time  given  did  not  permit  the 
change  to  be  widely  known,  however,  and  at  the  polls  the  Know- 
Nothing  vote  was  divided  between  Williams  and  Burnham. 
The  fourth  man  on  the  ticket,  James  P.  Saunders,  of  Peeks- 
kill,  was  a  nativist  leader  in  the  southeastern  counties,  but 
without  a  state  reputation.  He  had  many  friends  in  the  secret 
orders,  and  was  put  on  the  ticket  for  the  additional  reason  that 
he  represented  the  Soft-Shell  Democracy.  Political  state  con- 
ventions in  forming  tickets  usually  framed  platforms  on  which 

1  Tribune,  1854,  October  30,  p.  5. 


122  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM  [320 

the  tickets  were  to  run.  The  Grand  Council  was  not  a  con- 
vention in  form  and  it  made  no  platform,  but  it  accomplished 
much  the  same  thing  in  the  adoption  of  an  address  to  be  read 
in  the  subordinate  councils.  This  address  x  was  drawn  up  by 
a  special  committee  and  submitted  to  the  Grand  Council  for 
approval  much  as  a  political  platform  might  have  been.  It 
was  a  wordy  piece  of  rhetoric,  embellished  with  fragments  of 
patriotic  verse  and  containing  in  its  whole  length  one  issue 
only.  This  was  the  old  issue  of  nativism,  namely,  opposition 
to  the  power  of  Romanism,  which,  according  to  the  address, 
was  seeking  to  divide  the  American  people  by  encouraging 
party  strife,  in  order  that,  having  divided  them,  it  might  de- 
stroy their  cherished  institutions.  Nothing  was  said  about  op- 
position to  foreigners  on  the  mere  score  of  foreign  birth. 

With  the  adjournment  of  the  Grand  Council  the  managers 
of  the  nativist  campaign  took  up  the  work  of  the  hour.  It 
would  seem  that  there  must  have  been  some  sort  of  executive 
committee  of  the  Order,  but  contemporary  accounts  have  no 
reference  to  one.  On  October  I  ith  the  Executive  Convention 
of  the  O.  U.  A.  endorsed  the  Know-Nothing  ticket  and  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  of  the  O.  U.  A.  extended  its  aid  to  the 
movement.  The  first  great  problem  of  the  campaign  was  that 
of  quelling  the  disaffection  which  had  followed  the  action  of 
the  Grand  Council.  The  delegates  who  had  left  the  Council, 
angry  at  the  nomination  of  Ullman,  spread  over  the  state 
stones  of  unfair  action  by  the  grand  officers,  of  illegality  and 
conspiracy  in  connection  with  the  nominations.  Here  and 
there  in  the  state  letters  came  out  in  the  press  describing  the 
Council  session  and  scoring  the  alleged  conspiracy  of  the 
Barker  clique.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  break-down  of 
the  secrecy  which  had  hitherto  surrounded  the  work  of  the 
Order.  Within  a  few  days  after  the  October  Grand  Council  a 
meeting  of  disaffected  Know-Nothings  took  place  at  Utica.  A 
committee  was  there  appointed  to  correspond  with  discon- 

1  Text  in  Herald,  1854,  October  31,  p.  I. 


32  I ]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1854  \2-$ 

tented  councils  and  to  organize  a  secession  movement,  with 
the  object  of  forming  a  new  Grand  Council  with  the  Barker 
clique  left  out.1  The  committee  began  work  at  once  and  met 
encouragement.  To  meet  the  accusations  made  against  them 
the  grand  officers  now  issued  a  formal  circular2  on  October 
1 7th,  in  which  they  officially  denied  all  charges  of  unfairness 
or  illegality  in  connection  with  the  nominations.  To  these  de- 
nials were  added  an  appeal  for  campaign  funds  and  a  confirma- 
tion of  Ullman's  native  birth.  This  official  circular  went  to 
all  councils,  and,  backed  by  the  efforts  of  the  friends  of  the 
ticket,  did  much  to  allay  the  discontent.  The  reference  in  the 
circular  to  Ullman's  birth  was  called  out  by  an  attack  on  the 
ticket,  charging  that  Ullman  was  not  American-born.  The 
story  originated  in  Jefferson  county,  and  swiftly  spread  over  the 
state.3  It  related  that  Ullman  was  the  child  of  German  Jew- 
ish parents  and  was  born  in  Calcutta ;  that  as  a  school-boy  in 
Jefferson  county  he  could  speak  English  only  brokenly,  and 
that  as  a  student  at  Harvard  he  was  accustomed  to  pose  as  a 
native  of  India.  The  intent  of  the  story  was  to  show  that  the 
Know-Nothings  had  made  themselves  supremely  ridiculous  by 
choosing  a  foreign-born  person  as  their  representative.  Ull- 
man's own  answer  to  the  tale  was  a  denial  and  the  production 
of  affidavits  showing  that  he  was  a  native  of  Delaware.  In 
spite  of  all  denials,  the  story  and  the  gibe  went  the  rounds  all 
through  the  campaign,  and  the  political  nickname  of  Hindoos 
was  fastened  upon  that  branch  of  the  Order  which  adhered  to 
the  Barker  clique  and  its  ticket.  On  October  26th  the  efforts 
of  the  Utica  secessionists  culminated  in  a  convention  of  the 
discontented  elements  at  Utica,  which  organized  itself  as  a 
rival  Grand  Council.4  It  passed  resolutions  declaring  its  op- 

1  Times,  1854,  October  10,  p.  I.         2  Text  in  Tribune,  1854,  October  25,  p.  5. 

3  Tribune,  1854,  October  13,  p.  4;  Times,  1854,  October  17,  p.  4;  October  19, 
p.  4. 

*  Official  report  of  meeting  in  Herald,  1854,  November  4,  p.  I.  Full  text  of 
its  new  constitution  and  ritual  in  Herald,  1855,  January  10,  p.  2. 


POLITICAL  N ATI  VISA!  [322 

position  to  persons  of  foreign  birth  or  Catholic  faith.  It 
elected  grand  officers,  framed  a  new  constitution,  issued  a  for- 
mal address  of  justification  and  adjourned  to  another  session 
in  January.  The  leaders  of  the  split  declared  themselves  op- 
posed to  the  making  of  separate  nativist  tickets,  but  thor- 
oughly in  favor  of  the  nativist  ideas.  The  following  officers 
of  the  Grand  Council  were  to  hold  until  the  annual  meeting  in 
January :  State  President,  Alfred  Cobb,  of  Syracuse ;  State 
Vice-President,  Alexander  Coburn,  of  Utica ;  State  Treasurer, 
John  F.  Severance,  of  Walworth ;  State  Secretary,  Benjamin 
F.  Romaine,  of  Albany.  There  were  probably  not  over  thirty 
councils  engaged  in  this  movement,1  and  little  notice  was 
given  it  except  by  the  Seward  Whig  press. 

The  great  mass  of  the  secret  order  upheld  the  regular  or- 
ganization, and  the  work  of  recruiting  members  went  on  cease- 
lessly. The  Know-Nothing  political  work  differed  strikingly 
from  the  usual  party  methods  in  its  disregard  of  newspaper 
aid.  The  secret  movement  had  no  organs  authorized  to  repre- 
sent it.  There  were  perhaps  a  dozen  papers  in  the  state  which 
favored  the  Ullman  ticket  for  political  reasons,  but  the  Order 
relied  for  success  upon  its  own  efforts,  that  is  to  say,  upon  the 
literature  that  it  printed  and  distributed,  upon  the  speakers 
that  it  sent  over  the  state  and  upon  the  ceaseless  energy  of  the 
second- degree  members.  The  Order  spared  no  efforts  to  di- 
minish the  popularity  of  Senator  Seward,  for  if  it  was  to  meet 
defeat  it  would  be  by  the  Seward  forces.  The  most  bitter  ene- 
mies of  nativism,  therefore,  were  the  Seward  Whig  newspa- 
pers, which  eloquently  denounced  the  wickedness  of  secrecy 
and  proscription  as  features  of  political  effort.  The  Demo- 
cratic press  of  the  state  was  far  more  courteous,  recognizing  in 
nativism  a  force  that  might  aid  Democratic  ends  by  the  over- 
throw of  the  Whig  leader.  At  last,  the  coming  of  November 
brought  the  campaign  to  an  end.  When  the  results  were 

1  Herald,  1854,  December  20,  p.  I. 


323]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1854  \2^ 

finally  known   by  the  official  canvass  it  was   found   that  the 
strength  of  the  tickets  was  as  follows : x 

Clark- Raymond  ticket: 

Whig  Party  (Woolly-Heads)       ^> 

Temperance  movement  (Temperance  men)      .    .    ! 

Anti-slavery  movement  (Anti-Nebraska  men)  .    .    \   ^S'200  votes- 

Agrarian  movement  (Anti-Renters)       J 

Seymour-Ludlow  ticket : 

Democratic  Party  (Soft-Shells) 133,800  votes. 

Ullman-Scroggs  ticket :  , 

Nativist  movement  (Know-Nothings)    .  '  '\  i22OOOvot-s 

Unorganized  Whigs  (Silver-Grays) f 

Bronson-Ford  ticket: 

Democratic  Party  (Hard-Shells) 44,000  votes. 

Clark-Wood  ticket : 

Anti-slavery  movement  (Free  Democrats)     .    .    .    \       g    oo  votes 

Anti-slavery  movement  (Republicans) / 

Good  el- Ward  ticket : 

Anti-slavery  movement  (Liberty  Party)      ....  300  votes. 

J 

The  vote  cast  for  the  Ullman  ticket  did  not  represent  ex- 
actly the   membership  of  the   Order.     A  percentage   of  the 
members   refused   to   be  bound  by  the  action  of  the  Grand 
Council  and  voted   the   regular  Whig  ticket.     At  the  same 
time  the  Ullman  ticket  received  a  heavy  vote  from  outside  its 
ranks.     In  New  York  city  the  Protestant  Irish  supported^ il 
In  Albany  the  colored  voters  cast  nativist  ballots^    When  the 
polls  closed  on  election  night  the  excitement  throughout  the 
state  was  intense.     So  chaotic  was  the  situation   that   none 
could  guess  how  the  result  would  stand.     The  earliest  returns  fffjfT'J* 
came   from   the  cities  and  villages,  and    favored   the   nativist 
ticket  so  much  that  for  two  or  three  days  it  was  believed  that 
Ull man's  election  was  accomplished.     Then  the  returns  from   V*?'- 
the  rural  sections  began  to  arrive.     Here  the  temperance  issue     '   ^ 
had  swayed  voters  more  than  nativism,  and  the  votes  for  Clark     v^"  **       . 
and  Seymour  mounted.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  Seymour    ^         V-* 

A»V\<M   <»0 

had  a  decided  lead,  and  as  Ullman's  prestige  faded  the  success        v  J  . 

**   "X 

1  Official  canvass  in  Times,  1854,  December  21,  p.  6.  V>«y  *>  v 


126  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [324 

of  Seymour  was  applauded.  Finally,  eleven  days  after  elec- 
tion, the  vote  of  the  western  counties  came  in,  and  it  was  seen 
that  Clark  had  an  apparent  plurality  so  small  that  nothing 
would  be  certain  till  the  state  canvassers  did  their  work. 
When  the  state  board  finally  passed  on  the  returns,  it  declared 
the  election  of  Clark  by  a  plurality  of  only  309  votes.  The 

\  Know-Nothing  attempt  to  defeat  Seward's  nominee  had  failed. 
In  spite  of  this  failure  the  remarkable  success  that  had  in- 
creased the  political  strength  of  the  nativist  movement  from 
1  4,000  votes  in  1853  to  122,000  in  1854  gave  it  new  prestige, 
and  the  loss  of  the  state  did  not  check  the  rise  of  the  secret 
order.  The  returns  of  the  state  showed  that  one-third  of  the 
Know-Nothing  vote  lay  in  the  counties  of  the  southeast,  where 
nativist  sentiment  was  real,  and  another  third  in  the  western- 
most counties,  where  the  Fillmore  influence  had  been  thrown 

L  in  its  favor.  The  remainder  was  scattered.  Following  is 
the  Ullman  vote  by  counties,  with  his  percentage  of  the  total 
vote  on  governor: 

cPeen«.         V«.  £.          Vote. 

Albany 32  ...  4,775  Herkimer 9  ...     57 1 

Alleghany 37  .    .    .  2,620  Jefferson      18  .    .    .  1,796 

Broome 20             1,170  Kings 31  ...  6,993 

Cattaraugus    ....  51  ...  3,243  Lewis 4  ...      151 

Cayuga 28  ...  2,459  Livingston 43  ••      2,672 

Chautauqua   ....  50  ...  4,519  Madison 4  ...      277 

Chemung  ,    ....  38  ...  1,613  Monroe 30  ...  3,516 

Chenango n  .    .    .     801  Montgomery    ....  9  ...     475 

Clinton 14  ...     597  New  York 27  .    .     16,588 

Columbia 21  ...  1,582  Niagara 32  ...  1,882 

Cortland 2  ...       88  Oneida 6  ...  1,068 

Delaware 9  ...      558  Qnondaga    ....  24  ...  3,064 

Dutchess    .    .        .    .  20  .    .    .  1,849  Ontario 43  .    .    .  3,148 

Erie 50  ...  7,712  Orange 22  ...  1,790 

Essex 12  ...     493  Orleans 45  ...  1,985 

Franklin 5  .    .    .      179  Oswego 13  ...  1,335 

Fulton-Hamilton  .    .  10  .    .    .     442  Otsego 7  ...     652 

Genesee 46  ...  2,360  Putnam 34  ...     638 

Greene 34  ...  1,760  Queens 27  ...  1,294 


325] 


THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1834 


127 


...    28  . 

.   7.O77 

Sullivan  

27  . 

.      866 

.     27  . 

.    .       566 

Tioga   

27  . 

.   I.OIQ 

Rockland.    .    . 

*6  . 

78Q 

Tom  pk  ins    

1.406 

St.  Lawrence 

II  . 

047 

Ulster           

20  . 

2.472 

Saratoga  .    .    . 

...      21  . 

.   1,777 

Warren    

46  .  . 

1,408 

Schenectady    . 

17  . 

C2C 

Washington  

2O  . 

.  2,025 

...    18  . 

21  .     . 

.  1,516 

Schuyler  .    .    . 

...      12  . 

.     .       4OI 

Westchester  

77  . 

.   7,417 

Seneca. 

77  . 

.   1  .40  7 

Wyoming.    .        ... 

20 

08  1 

.    so  , 

.     .  5,OOI 

Yates   

10  . 

711 

Suffolk  . 

,     41  . 

.  2,080 

During  the  campaign  little  was  said  about  the  legislative 
seats  which  were  to  be  filled  by  the  election,  but  both  the 
Seward  men  and  the  nativists  worked  over  the  field  with  some 
care.  Both  sides  had  a  special  interest  in  the  next  legislature 
because  Seward  would  come  before  it  as  a  candidate  for  re- 
election as  United  States  Senator.  The  election  returns 
showed  that  the  greater  part  of  the  members  would  be  Whigs, 
but  as  to  how  many  would  favor  Seward  no  one  could  tell. 
When  the  Know-Nothing  Grand  Council  met  in  New  York 
city  in  its  regular  quarterly  session  on  November  I4th,  its 
business  was  partly  to  organize  Seward's  defeat  in  the  legis- 
lature, as  well  as  to  improve  the  political  machinery  of  the 
Order  as  applicable  to  the  work  of  a  state  campaign.1  The 
outcry  made  against  the  Barker  clique  just  before  the  state 
election  had  served  one  purpose  in  showing  the  objectionable 
features  of  too  thoroughly  centralized  power  in  election 
work.  There  had  been  no  use  of  the  representative  system  in 
the  executive  work  of  the  state  campaign.  To  obviate  that 
objection  the  Grand  Council  now  created  a  state  committee, 
consisting  of  four  members  from  each  one  of  the  eight  judicial 
districts  of  the  state.  This  is  interesting  as  the  first  step  of  an 
evolution  which  would  ultimately  reduce  the  Order  to  a  like- 
ness with  the  customary  forms  of  political  parties.  In  its  time 

•Official   report   of  session  in    Times,  1854,   December  4,  p.  I;  Herald,  1854, 
December  6,  p.  I. 


I28  POLITICAL  NA  T*  VISM 

this  first  step  was  clearly  a  concession  to  the  feeling  that  had 
grown  up  against  centralized  power.  The  members  of  the 
new  state  committee  were  as  follows: 

Joseph  S.  Taylor,  Chauncey  Schaffer,  William  Stokely  and 
Joseph  Souder,  all  of  New  York,  Samuel  H.  Townsend  of 
Suffolk,  Luther  Colwell  of  Rockland,  William  Taylor  of 
Westchester,  William  B.  Cozzens  of  Orange,  H.  Q.  Lansing 
of  Albany,  H.  M.  Wetherbee  of  Columbia,  J.  T.  Hendricks  of 
Ulster,  S.  W.  Brittan  of  Rensselaer,  Stephen  Sammons  of 
Montgomery,  Martin  Myers  of  Schenectady,  William  A.  Rus- 
sell of  Washington,  E.  K.  Huested  of  Saratoga,  Randolph 
Barnes  of  Jefferson,  J.  Ostrander  of  Herkimer,  J.  D.  Miller  of 
Oswego,  William  S.  Palmer  of  Onondaga,  W.  T.  Huntington 
of  Tompkins,  James  Wright  of  Tioga,  T.  C.  Grannis  of  Che- 
nango,  John  Palen  of  Delaware,  Samuel  J.  Crook  of  Living- 
ston, H.  F.  Hatch  of  Monroe,  J.  R.  Stearns  of  Cayuga, 
Stephen  V.  R.  Mallory  of  Ontario,  Erasmus  D.  Rodman  of 
Erie,  Philip  S.  Cottle  of  Chautauqua,  Alexis  Ward  of  Orleans, 
A.  Stearns  of  Genesee. 

Another  piece  of  legislation  by  the  Grand  Council  was  the 
creation  of  "  the  test "  which  elaborated  the  discipline  of  the 
secret  system.  This  was  a  formal  and  summary  proceeding 
to  discover  and  punish  political  treason.  It  consisted  in  call- 
ing any  person  before  the  body  in  which  he  held  membership 
and  requiring  him  to  reply  with  uplifted  hand  to  such  questions 
as  might  be  put  to  him  regarding  his  vote.  Its  general  object 
was  to  purge  the  Order  of  malcontents  and  uncertain  voters, 
for  the  answers  given  under  the  test  were  suitable  basis  for  a 
vote  of  expulsion.  With  the  resolutions  which  created  the 
test  were  others  which  prescribed  its  use.  The  officers  of  the 
Grand  Council  were  to  test  each  delegate  and  the  Council  was 
to  expel  such  members  as  did  not  rightly  answer.  This 
would  purify  the  governing  body  of  the  Order.  The  tested 
delegates  were  then  to  return  to  their  several  councils  and 
make  inquiry  as  to  whether  the  district- deputies  had  worked 


327]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1834  129 

for  the  Ullman  ticket.  Such  deputies  as  had  not  done  so 
were  to  be  reported  to  the  grand-president,  who  was  at  once 
to  remove  them  and  make  new  appointments.  Each  district- 
deputy  was  then  to  visit  the  several  councils  in  his  care  and 
to  make  inquiry  as  to  how  each  council  had  acted,  reporting 
all  objectionable  ones  to  the  grand-president,  who  would  at 
once  revoke  their  charters  and  dissolve  them.  This  would 
purge  the  executive  system.  In  each  council  in  the  state  any 
member  might  be  expelled  if  self-convicted  by  the  test.  This 
sweeping  inquest,  which  reached  into  every  council  and 
touched  every  member  of  the  secret  order,  is  an  interesting 
hint  of  the  perfection  to  which  the  machinery  of  such  a 
society  could  be  brought.  The  test  was  at  once  put  into 
effect  upon  the  delegates  in  the  Grand  Council.  Then  the 
delegates  went  home  to  continue  the  work.  Soon  there  were 
outbreaks  of  wrath  and  expostulation  from  councils  which 
feared  the  operations  of  this  new  discipline.  Know-Nothings 
in  Brooklyn  met  to  denounce  the  test  formally  and  to  spread 
broadcast  the  text  of  their  protest.1  The  work  was  done, 
however,  despite  objections,  and  the  Order  gained  strength  by 
it.  The  nativist  system  was  never  more  unified  in  discipline 
and  control  than  now,  when  its  managers  prepared  to  throw 
their  strength  into  the  legislative  contest  over  the  choice  of  a 
United  States  senator. 

The  state  legislature  convened  on  January  3rd.  By  this 
time  it  was  known  that  there  were  some  forty-five  members 
of  the  legislature  who  were  members  of  either  the  Know- 
Nothing  Order  or  the  O.  U.  A.  Could  they  be  organized, 
the  number  was  sufficient  to  defeat  the  hopes  of  Seward. 
With  the  opening  of  the  legislative  session,  accordingly, 
Albany  became  the  center  of  political  intrigue  and  pressure  in 
reference  to  the  senatorship.  The  managers  of  the  Know- 
Nothings  relied  much  on  the  pledges  which  members  had 
made  to  the  secret  orders.  Instructions  from  Know-Nothing 

1  Text  in  Tribune,  1854,  December  7,  p.  7. 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [338 

councils  and  O.  U.  A.  chapters,  all  leveled  against  Seward, 
poured  in  upon  those  legislators  who  held  secret  affiliations.1 
There  was  also  a  lobby  against  Seward.  The  November  ses- 
sion of  the  Grand  Council  had  recommended  that  the  councils 
in  each  assembly  district  should  unite  in  sending  an  agent  to 
Albany.  The  duties  of  such  agent  were  not  defined  by  the 
Council,  but  it  was  understood  that  he  was  to  organize  all 
possible  pressure  upon  the  assemblyman  over  whom  he 
watched.  Probably  such  an  elaborate  lobby  never  existed 
before  or  since  in  New  York  state.  Moral  suasion  also  had 
its  place  in  the  Know-Nothing  schemes.  Under  the  title  of 
" Stanhope  Burleigh"  a  novel  had  been  written  by  C.  Edwards 
Lester2  under  the  pseudonym  of  Helen  Dhu.  Among  its 
characters  were  recognizable  the  personalities  of  Seward, 
Weed,  Greeley,  Hughes  and  other  enemies  of  nativism. 
Intermingled  with  the  love  story  of  the  heroine  the  novel  told 
under  its  fictitious  names  how  the  ambitious  Whig  leaders 
had  bartered  their  loyalty  to  American  institutions  for  Cath- 
olic votes,  and  how  the  Catholic  conquest  of  America  was  to 
follow.  A  copy  of  this  novel  was  sent  to  each  legislator  to 
influence  his  vote.3  In  addition  to  these  influences  there  was 
the  preaching  of  the  Albany  State  Register,  which  had  been 
adopted  as  the  new  state  organ  of  the  secret  order,  by  the 
new  state  committee  on  December  3Oth.4 

On  the  part  of  the  Seward  men  there  was  no  lack  of  effort. 
Rumor  declared  Thurlow  Weed  to  be  the  master-mind  of  the 
Seward  forces.  If  the  Know-Nothings  had  aroused  comment 
by  their  unusual  methods,  their  opponents  were  not  less 
interesting,  for  one  of  the  factors  brought  in  by  them  to  aid 
the  election  of  Seward  was  the  secret  nativist  order  of  the 

1  Tribune,  1855,  February  7,  p.  5;  February  9,  p.  4. 
1  Tribune,  1855,,  March  3,  p.  4;  Tune  18,  p.  5. 

3  Herald,  1855,  January  29,  p,  4;  February  5.  p.  2. 

4  Tribune,  1855,  January  20,  j-.  4. 


329]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  i854  131 

Utica  Know-Nothings.  The  Utica  secessionists  who  had 
revolted  against  the  Barker  clique  had  abated  not  a  jot  from 
the  anti-foreign  and  anti-Catholic  principles  of  the  mother- 
order.  Yet  in  January,  1855,  the  delegates  to  the  secessionist 
Grand  Council  were  found  in  Albany  as  lobbyist  friends  of  the 
anti-nativist  and  pro-Catholic  Whig  leader.  The  Grand 
Council  had  been  called  to  meet  on  January  loth  at  Sche- 
nectady,  a  place  selected,  many  thought,  because  of  its  near- 
ness to  the  state  capital.  There  were  about  125  delegates  on 
hand,  representing  some  fifty  councils.  The  grand  body 
passed  a  series  of  resolutions  declaring  for  temperance, 
nativism  and  anti-slavery,  and  then  adjourned,  while  its  mem- 
bers hastened  to  Albany.1  The  Seward  men  nursed  this 
branch  of  nativism  in  order,  apparently,  to  make  prominent 
the  fact  that  not  all  Know- Nothings  were  opposed  to  Seward. 
Another  factor  in  the  senatorial  contest  was  the  temperance 
question.  The  fate  of  a  prohibitory  law  lay  in  the  hands  of 
the  Seward  clique,  and  although  the  Know-Nothings  strove 
for  the  favor  of  the  temperance  legislators  the  Whig  clique 
had  the  advantage. 

All  through  the  month  of  January  the  work  of  intrigue 
went  on.  During  the  weeks  of  waiting  the  skill  of  Seward's 
friends  detached  one  after  another  from  the  mass  of  opposi- 
tion. Finally,  by  a  fusion  of  Seward  men,  Silver-Grays, 
Democrats  and  nativists  they  had  a  clean  majority  in  joint 
session.  Then  the  contest  was  precipitated.  In  the  legisla- 
tive caucus  held  to  nominate,  so  large  a  vote  was  cast  for 
Seward  that  the  nativist  opposition  gave  up  the  fight  at  once. 
On  February  6th  the  formal  election  took  place.  Seward  re- 
ceived eighty-five  votes,  four  more  than  a  clear  majority.  The 
Know-Nothings  had  been  out-generaled.  Seward's  success  was 
a  bitter  experience  for  the  nativists,  the  more  so  because  there 
had  been  some  premature  boasting  over  his  expected  over- 

'For  this  session:  Herald,  1855,  January  10,  pp.  2,  4;  Times,  1855,  January  II, 
8,  January  30,  p.  i. 


1^2  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [330 

throw.  The  anger  of  defeat  blazed  up  a  little  here  and  there 
and  then  died  down,  biding  its  time.  Twelve  Know-Nothings 
had  voted  for  Seward  in  the  legislature  and  thirty-seven  of  his 
supporters  were  said  to  have  been  under  nativist  pledges.1 
Some  of  these  were  expelled  from  the  secret  bodies  to  which 
they  belonged  and  others  were  merely  made  uncomfortable. 
But  whatever  vengeance  might  be  wreaked  upon  his  friends, 
Seward  was  safe  for  six  years  more. 

1  Names  given  in  Herald,  1855,  February  6,  p.  4. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE,   1854-1855 

WHILE  the  Know-Nothing  Order  in  New  York  state  was 
battling  with  Seward  for  supremacy,  a  new  and  alluring  pros- 
pect was  opening  to  the  ambitions  of  the  Order.  All  over  the 
nation  the  new  nativist  movement  had  been  greedily  seized 
upon  by  political  leaders  whose  purposes  seemed  likely  to  be 
subserved  by  it,  and  all  over  the  nation,  too,  the  voters  had 
been  charmed  by  the  patriotism  and  the  mystery  of  the 
society.  From  Maine  to  California,  north,  east,  south  and 
west,  the  federated  secret  councils  were  grasping  power  and 
looking  forward  to  greater  conquests.  Already  boasts  were 
heard  that  the  votes  of  the  Order  would  make  a  president  in 
1856.  The  national  leaders  of  the  older  parties  stood  aghast 
at  the  rising  tide  which  threatened  to  sweep  away  both  them 
and  the  old  issues  that  they  represented.  Another  national 
political  issue,  however,  was  also  struggling  for  position. 
Anti-slavery  feeling,  inflamed  by  the  Nebraska  struggle  of 
1854  and  aggravated  by  the  border  troubles  in  Kansas,  was 
also  being  seized  upon  by  practiced  politicians  and  moulded 
for  political  purposes.  In  the  North  a  bitter  and  aggressive 
anti-slavery  movement  based  itself  on  moral  sentiment  and 
sectional  jealousy.  In  the  South  a  bitter  and  aggressive  pro- 
slavery  sentiment  based  itself  on  the  Southern  fear  of  social 
and  industrial  revolution.  Both  north  and  south  a  large  con- 
servative element  sought  for  escape  from  this  issue.  Until  the 
fall  of  1854  anti-slavery  and  nativism  had  been  neither 
friendly  nor  antagonistic.  In  some  states,  as  in  New  York, 
circumstances  might  put  anti- slavery  leaders  and  nativist 


POLITICAL  NAT1VISM 


[332 


leaders  in  opposing  camps,  but  in  others,  as  in  Massachusetts, 
the  reverse  might  be  true.  The  two  issues  were  so  distinct  in 
character  that  they  naturally  stood  unrelated. 

Such  was  their  actual  position  when  the  National  Council 
of  the  secret  order  met  on  November  15,  1854,  at  Cincinnati, 
to  legislate  for  the  society.  The  business  of  the  session  was 
the  revision  of  the  secret  ritual,  but  at  the  same  time  politics 
were  to  be  informally  prominent.1  It  was  plain  that  the  older 
parties  were  now  breaking  into  fragments  and  that  the  nativist 
movement  was  heir-apparent  to  their  power.  Presidential 
possibilities  were  asking  for  recognition  thus  early,  and  fore- 
sighted  leaders  in  the  Order  were  bent  on  paving  the  way  for 
its  control  of  the  national  government.  If  the  plans  of*  the 
leaders  were  to  succeed  the  Order  must  wield  influence  in  both 
North  and  South.  This  was  the  source  of  nativist  hostility 
toward  anti-slavery,  for  the  latter  issue  was  above  all  things  sec- 
tional and  disruptive.  If  the  nativist  policy  were  tainted  with 
anti  slavery  the  Order  could  not  hope  to  carry  a  single  Southern 
state  nor  to  control  the  Union.  Of  the  inside  history  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Council  session  very  little  news  came  to  the  outer  world. 
It  was  learned  in  a  general  way  that  the  Council  carried  out  a 
revision  of  the  secret  ritual,  including  the  oaths  of  the  three 
degrees.  It  was  reported  that  the  delegates  devoted  some  of 
their  time  to  talking  over  the  merits  of  presidential  possibili- 
ties. It  was  rumored  that  the  Southern  members  demanded 
some  action  that  would  secure  the  Order  from  the  control  of 
the  anti-slavery  men  and  that  they  were  gratified.  Much 
more  than  this  was  learned,  however,  after  the  Council  had 
adjourned  and  its  work  had  been  reported  to  the  state  councils 
for  referendum  vote.  The  facts  came  out  in  a  bitter  wail  from 
the  anti-slavery  element,  protesting  against  the  new  oath  of 
the  third  degree.  The  new  oath,  in  form,  merely  affected  to 
condemn  a  disruption  of  the  nation,  and  to  this  idea  no  good 

1  On  this  session  see  Herald,  1854,  November  16,  p.  I  ;  November  25,  p.  7  ; 
December  20,  p.  I;  December  28,  p.  I. 


333]  THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE  j^ 

American  could  object.  The  sting  of  it  lay  in  the  fact  that  it 
gave  the  conservative  element  and  the  pro-slavery  men  a 
means  of  suppressing  the  anti-slavery  idea  by  using  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Order  against  its  advocates.  It  is  worth  the  while, 
at  this  point,  to  give  the  Know-Nothing  oaths  in  full.  Several 
versions  of  oaths,  purporting  to  be  those  of  the  secret  order, 
were  published  by  the  hostile  press  during  the  period  of 
Know-Nothing  activity,  but  the  only  ones  which  seem  clearly 
authentic  are  those  which  date  from  the  Cincinnati  revision.1 
The  oath  of  the  first  degree,  taken  by  all  members  of  the 
Order,  was  administered  as  follows  : 

In  the  presence  of  Almighty  God  and  these  witnesses  you  do  solemnly  promise 
and  swear  that  you  will  never  betray  any  of  the  secrets  of  this  society,  nor  com- 
municate them  even  to  proper  candidates,  except  within  a  lawful  council  of  the 
Order;  that  you  will  never  permit  any  of  the  secrets  of  this  society  to  be  written, 
or  in  any  other  manner  to  be  made  legible  except  for  the  purpose  of  official  in- 
struction; that  you  will  not  vote  nor  give  your  influence  for  any  man  for  any  office  in 
the  gift  of  the  People,  unless  he  be  an  American-born  citizen,  in  favor  of  Ameri- 
cans ruling  America,  nor  if  he  be  a  Roman  Catholic ;  that  you  will  in  all  political 
matters,  so  far  as  this  Order  is  concerned,  comply  with  the  will  of  the  majority, 
though  it  may  conflict  with  your  personal  preference,  so  long  as  it  does  not 
conflict  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America  or  that  of  the 
state  in  which  you  reside ;  that  you  will  not,  under  any  circumstances  whatever, 
knowingly  recommend  an  unworthy  person  for  initiation,  nor  suffer  it  to  be  done  if 
in  your  power  to  prevent  it ;  that  you  will  not  under  any  circumstances  expose  the 
name  of  any  member  of  this  Order,  nor  reveal  the  existence  of  such  an  associa- 
tion ;  that  you  will  answer  an  imperative  notice  issued  by  the  proper  authority, 
obey  the  command  of  the  state- council  president  or  his  deputy  while  assembled  by 
such  notice,  and  respond  to  the  claim  of  a  sign  or  a  cry  of  the  Order,  unless  it  be 

physically  impossible  ;  and  that  you  will  acknowledge  the  State  Council  of 

as  the  legislative  head,  the  ruling  authority  and  the  supreme  tribunal  of  the  Order  in 
the  state  of  ....  acting  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  National  Council  of  the  United 

1  A  set  of  oaths  said  to  have  been  used  in  Virginia  in  1854  may  possibly  be  those 
actually  used  by  the  Order  before  the  Cincinnati  ritual.  They  are  given  in  Tri- 
bune, 1854,  August  10,  p.  6,  and  Herald,  1854,  August  12,  p.  3.  The  Cincinnati 
oaths  as  used  in  Pennsylvania  are  given  in  Times,  1855,  April  30,  p.  2.  Those 
of  the  1st  and  2d  degrees  are  also  reported  from  Warsaw,  N.  Y.,  in  Tribune, 
1855,  April  17,  p.  5.  That  of  the  3rd  degree  is  also  reported  from  Ohio  in  Times, 
1855,  June  9. 


136  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [334 

States  of  North  America,  binding  yourself  in  the  penalty  of  excommunication  from 
the  Order,  the  forfeiture  of  all  intercourse  with  its  members,  and  being  denounced 
in  all  the  societies  of  the  same  as  a  willful  traitor  to  your  God  and  to  your  country. 

The  assent  to  the  obligation  of  the  first  degree  was  made 
in  these  words:  "All  this  I  voluntarily  and  sincerely  promise, 
with  a  full  understanding  of  the  solemn  sanctions  and  penal- 
ties." The  first-degree  oath  was  designed  merely  to  control 
the  voting  citizen.  The  second-degree  oath  went  further  and 
bound  the  taker  as  to  his  policy  if  advanced  to  public  office. 
It  was  administered  as  follows : 

You  and  each  of  you  of  your  own  free  will  and  accord,  in  the  presence  of 
Almighty  God  and  these  witnesses,  your  left  hand  resting  on  your  right  breast  and 
your  right  hand  extended  to  the  flag  of  your  country,  do  solemnly  and  sincerely 
swear  that  you  will  not  under  any  circumstances  disclose  in  any  manner,  nor  suffer 
it  to  be  done  by  others  if  in  your  power  to  prevent  it,  the  name,  signs,  pass-words 
or  other  secrets  of  this  degree,  except  in  open  council  for  the  purpose  of  instruc- 
tion ;  that  you  will  in  all  things  conform  to  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  this 
Order,  and  to  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  this  or  any  other  council  to  which 
you  may  be  attached,  so  long  as  they  do  not  conflict  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  nor  that  of  the  state  in  which  you  reside  ;  that  you  will  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, if  in  your  power  so  to  do,  attend  to  all  regular  signs  or  summons  that 
may  be  thrown  or  sent  to  you  by  a  brother  of  this  or  any  other  degree  of  this  Order; 
that  you  will  support  in  all  political  matters,  for  all  political  offices,  members  of 
this  Order  in  preference  to  other  persons  ;  that  if  it  may  be  done  legally  you  will, 
when  elected  or  appointed  to  any  official  station  conferring  on  you  the  power  to  do 
so,  remove  all  foreigners,  aliens  or  Roman  Catholics  from  office  or  place,  and  that 
you  will  in  no  case  appoint  such  to  any  office  or  place  in  your  gift.  You  do  also 
promise  and  swear  that  this  and  all  other  obligations  which  you  have  previously 
taken  in  this  Order  shall  ever  be  kept  through  life  sacred  and  inviolate.  All  this 
you  promise  and  declare  as  Americans  to  sustain  and  abide  by,  without  any  hesi- 
tation or  mental  reservation  whatever.  So  help  you  God  and  keep  you  steadfast. 

The  third  degree,  after  the  Cincinnati  Council,  was  often 
called  the  Union  degree  on  account  of  the  clauses  added  to  it 
having  reference  to  the  Union.  These  were  the  innovations 
against  which  the  anti-slavery  men  protested  so  vigorously. 
The  oath  was  administered  in  the  following  words : 

You  and  each  of  you,  of  your  own  free  will  and  accord,  in  the  presence  of 
Almighty  God  and  these  witnesses,  with  your  hands  joined  in  token  of  that  frater- 
nal affection  which  should  ever  bind  together  the  states  of  this  Union — forming  a 
ring  in  token  of  your  determination  that,  so  far  as  your  efforts  can  avail,  this  Union 


3  3  5  ]  THE  INTR  USION  OF  THE  SLA  VER  Y  ISSUE  r  3  7 

shall  have  no  end — do  solemnly  and  sincerely  swear  that  you  will  not  under  any 
circumstances  disclose  in  any  manner,  nor  suffer  it  to  be  done  by  others  if  in  your 
power  to  prevent  it,  ihe  name,  signs,  pass  words  or  other  secrets  of  this  degree,  ex- 
cept to  those  whom  you  may  prove  on  trial  to  be  brothers  of  the  same  degree,  or  in 
open  council  for  the  purpose  of  instruction  ;  that  you  do  hereby  solemnly  declare 
your  devotion  to  the  Union  of  these  states  ;  that  in  the  discharge  of  your  duties  as 
American  citizens,  you  will  uphold,  maintain  and  defend  it;  that  you  will  discourage 
and  denounce  any  and  every  attempt  coming  from  any  and  every  quarter  which 
you  believe  to  be  designed  or  calculated  to  destroy  or  subvert  it  or  to  weaken  its 
bonds,  and  that  you  will  use  your  influence,  as  far  as  in  your  power,  in  endeavor- 
ing to  procure  an  amicable  and  equitable  adjustment  of  all  political  discontents  or 
differences  which  may  threaten  its  injury  or  overthrow.  You  do  further  promise 
and  swear  that  you  will  not  vote  for  any  one  to  fill  any  office  of  honor  or  profit  or 
trust  of  a  political  character,  whom  you  know  or  believe  to  be  in  favor  of  a  disso- 
lution of  the  Union  of  these  states,  or  who  is  endeavoring  to  produce  that  result ; 
that  you  will  vote  for  and  support  for  all  political  offices  Third  or  Union  degree 
members  of  this  Order  in  preference  to  all  others  ;  that  if  it  may  be  done  consist- 
ently with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  land,  you  will  when  elected  or  appointed 
to  any  official  station  which  may  confer  on  you  the  power  to  do  so,  remove  from 
office  or  place  all  persons  whom  you  know  or  believe  to  be  in  favor  of  a  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Union,  or  who  are  endeavoring  to  produce  that  result ;  and  that  you 
will  in  no  case  appoint  such  persons  to  any  political  office  or  place  whatever.  All 
this  you  promise  and  swear  upon  your  honor  as  American  citizens  and  friends  of 
the  American  Union,  to  sustain  and  abide  by  without  any  hesitation  or  mental 
reservation  whatever.  You  also  promise  and  swear  that  this  and  all  other  obliga- 
tions which  you  have  previously  taken  in  this  Order  shall  ever  be  kept  sacred 
and  inviolate.  To  all  this  you  pledge  your  lives,  your  fortunes  and  your  sacred 
honors.  So  help  you  God  and  keep  you  steadfast. 

The  action  of  the  Order  in  throwing  down  the  gauntlet  to 
the  anti-slavery  men  did  not,  at  the  moment,  seem  impolitic. 
Both  north  and  south  there  were  thousands  of  thinking  men 
who  saw  danger  in  the  slavery  agitation  and  who  would  gladly 
have  seen  it  buried  under  the  weight  of  some  less  dangerous 
issue.  It  was  this  element  that  was  eagerly  and  hopefully 
turning  to  nativism  as  an  escape  from  an  impending  dilemma. 
The  action  of  the  National  Council  at  Cincinnati  was  a  bid  for 
the  support  of  the  conservative  element  of  the  nation.  In 
New  York  state  the  new  oaths  were  very  acceptable  to  the 
nativist  managers  because  they  added  a  point  in  the  contest 
with  Seward.  The  old-time  nativist  argument  that  Seward 


POLITICAL  NATIV1SM 


[336 


should  be  defeated  because  he  favored  foreigners  and  Catholics 
was  now  reinforced  by  the  new  doctrine  that  he  should  be 
defeated  as  an  enemy  to  the  Union.  Among  the  rank  and  file 
and  lesser  leaders  there  were  some  defections  as  a  result  of  the 
action  at  Cincinnati,  but  not  sufficient  to  be  serious.  Many 
who  left  the  Order  at  this  time  in  New  York  city  attached 
themselves  to  kindred  societies  of  nativism,  more  especially  to 
the  "  Allen  branch  "  of  the  Order  and  the  American  Star 
Order.  The  "  Allen  branch  "  was  that  portion  of  the  Order 
which  dated  back  to  the  split  of  1852.  When  the  dual  order 
was  consolidated  in  May,  1854,  one  of  the  ward  councils  in 
New  York  city  refused  to  coalesce.  It  remained  independent, 
organized  itself  as  a  Grand  Council,  and  took  up  anew  the 
work  of  expansion.  Increased  by  new  members  and  by  with- 
drawals from  the  main  society,  the  "  Allen  branch  "  in  De- 
cember, 1854,  possessed  153  councils  in  New  York  and  30  in 
New  Jersey.1  The  main  branch  of  the  Order  always  recog- 
nized a  kinship  with  the  smaller  body,  but  it  was  the  special 
boast  of  the  latter  that  it  maintained  the  original  principles 
and  methods  of  the  organization.  The  American  Star  Order 
was  the  society  of  the  "  Wide-  Awakes  "  founded  by  William 
Patten  and  prominent  in  the  street-fights  of  New  York  city. 
Originally  composed  mainly  of  minors,  it  received  an  older 
element  into  its  ranks  during  the  latter  part  of  1854.  The 
growth  of  these  two  societies  in  the  metropolis  was  another 
sign  of  that  disaffection  toward  the  policy  of  the  ruling  clique 
which  had  already  brought  the  Utica  branch  of  the  society 
into  existence  in  the  interior.  The  problem  of  managing 
political  nativism  was  complicated  by  these  secessions.  The 
Cincinnati  ritual,  which  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  changes, 
was  nevertheless  accepted  and  ratified  by  the  Grand  Council 
of  the  main  body  at  a  special  session  held  in  New  York  city 
in  January.2 

1  Courier-  Enquirer,  1855,  March  18,  p.  2;  Herald,  1854,  December  20,  p.  I. 
*  Tribune,  1855,  January  II,  p.  4. 


337]  THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE 

The  New  York  managers  now  faced  the  work  of  placing  the 
Order  in  New  York  state  upon  the  new  political  platform 
without  further  impairing  its  strength.  At  this  particular 
time  the  senatorial  contest  was  in  full  swing.  Until  February 
6,  1855,  the  energies  of  the  Order  in  New  York  were  all 
directed  toward  the  defeat  of  Seward,  and  the  feeling  which 
was  aroused  against  the  great  exponent  of  anti-nativism  and 
anti-slavery  made  it  easy  to  consolidate  the  sentiment  of  the 
Order  in  favor  of  the  policy  embodied  in  the  third  degree.  In 
spite  of  the  numbers  in  New  York  city  who  went  over  to  the 
lesser  societies,  the  accessions  of  new  members  continued  to 
increase  the  strength  of  the  main  body  of  the  Know-Nothing 
organization.  It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  or  not  this  was 
due  in  any  large  measure  to  the  influence  of  the  Cincinnati 
ritual  as  a  bid  for  the  conservative  support.  Probably  the 
splendid  executive  machinery  of  the  Order  is  more  entitled  to 
the  credit  of  the  expansion.  As  the  spring  election  of  1855 
drew  near  the  local  Whig  and  Democratic  leaders  through 
the  state  tried  to  hold  the  usual  party  caucuses,  but,  if  held  at 
all,  they  proved  in  many  cases  to  be  the  veriest  farces.  The 
organized  nativists  of  the  smaller  towns  manipulated  the 
regular  party  caucuses  to  accommodate  the  plans  of  the  secret 
Know-Nothing  councils.  Bitter  feuds  grew  up  within  the 
local  parties  as  a  result  of  secret  politics.  Then,  from  the 
latter  part  of  January  onward,  the  interior  cities  and  villages 
showed  the  phenomenon  of  local  abandonment  of  the  old 
Whig  and  Democratic  systems.  Voters  ranged  themselves  in 
the  local  elections  as  Know- Nothings  or  Anti-Know-Nothings, 
and  fought  out  the  issue  of  secret  politics  at  the  polls.  The 
results,  reported  in  the  daily  press,  showed  the  honors  of  suc- 
cess to  be  about  equally  divided.  This  rapid  gain  of  strength 
in  the  interior  of  the  state  went  on  far  into  the  spring  months, 
but  it  was  hardly  matched  by  a  corresponding  increase  in  New 
York  city,  where  the  results  of  the  recruiting  system  had 
about  reached  their  limit  by  the  spring  months  of  1855.  But 


POLITICAL  N  ATI  V  ISM  [338 

in  New  York  city,  too,  the  Barker  clique  planned  to  increase 
Know-Nothing  strength  by  capturing  the  American  Star 
Order  and  using  it  as  an  adjunct  to  the  greater  organization. 

Everything  was  favorable  to  nativism  in  New  York  state 
when  the  Grand  Council  met  in  annual  session  at  Syracuse  on 
February  13,  1855.  The  Order  now  included  960  councils 
and  about  142,000  members.  About  2,000  delegates,  repre- 
senting 910  councils,  appeared  at  the  Syracuse  session.1  On 
the  first  day  the  Council  organized  itself  and  imposed  the  test 
on  certain  of  its  members.  Seward's  election  had  taken  place 
only  a  week  before,  and  there  was  much  soreness  over  the 
event.  One  unlucky  delegate  who,  as  assemblyman,  had 
helped  to  elect  Seward,  was  mobbed  and  driven  from  the 
council  hall.8  On  the  second  day  the  Council  listened  to  the 
president's  annual  address.  Barker  commented  hopefully  on 
the  growth  of  the  Order,  spoke  of  the  test  and  its  good  effects 
in  ridding  the  society  of  the  unfaithful,  endorsed  the  neutral 
policy  of  the  Cincinnati  session  and  recommended  the  adoption 
of  a  new  state  constitution  by  the  Council.  The  annual  election 
followed  the  address.  President  Barker  was  again  chosen  to 
office,  as  were  also  Secretary  Farrington  and  Treasurer 
Taylor.  In  the  vice-presidency  Ambrose  Stevens,  of  Genesee, 
superseded  Ebling.  On  the  third  day  the  Council  debated  on 
a  new  constitution.  The  secret  order  in  New  York  state  was 
at  this  time  working  under  the  constitution  adopted  at  the 
consolidation  of  the  society  in  May,  1854,  but  the  extra- 
ordinary growth  of  the  organization  had  made  that  instrument 
open  to  criticism.  Not  only  was  it  inadequate  for  the  political 
work  of  a  state  campaign,  but  its  centralizing  provisions  had 
begun  to  irritate  the  interior  counties.  At  the  special  session 
of  the  Grand  Council  in  January,  1855,  the  adoption  of  a  new 


this  session  see  Herald,  1855,  February  18,  p.  3,  February  19,  p.  I;  Times, 
1855,  February  27,  p.  4.     Text  of  Barker's  address  in  Herald,  1855,  March  7,  p. 
8;   Times,  1855,  March  8,  p.  8. 
1  Herald,  1855,  February  i8,p.  3;   Courier-  Enquirer,  1855,  February  23,  p.  2. 


339] 


THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE 


constitution  had  been  recommended,  and  a  committee  selected 
to  draft  it.1  The  report  of  this  committee  was  now  ready  for 
discussion  by  the  Grand  Council  at  its  annual  session,  and  it 
was  subjected  to  lengthy  debate.  The  Council  voted  to  open 
the  membership  of  the  Order  to  native-born  Protestants  of 
foreign  parentage.  It  voted  to  limit  the  president's  power  by 
placing  the  selection  of  district  deputies  of  each  county  in  the 
hands  of  the  delegates  of  the  county  assembled  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  voted  also  to  reduce  the  membership  of  the  Grand 
Council  to  one  delegate  from  each  subordinate  council. 
Eventually,  however,  after  voting  the  reforms,  the  proposed 
constitution  was  laid  over  to  the  next  quarterly  session. 
After  electing  delegates  to  the  National  Council  the  Grand 
Council  adjourned  on  the  i$th.  The  press  reports  of  the  ses- 
sion do  not  indicate  that  the  slavery  question  played  any  part 
in  its  proceedings. 

After  the  annual  meeting  the  Barker  clique,  secured  in 
power  for  another  year,  turned  to  the  conquest  of  the  Order  of 
the  American  Star.  Of  its  success  in  this  effort  the  details 
may  be  told  as  part  of  the  history  of  the  state  campaign.  All 
the  organizing  work  of  the  Order  was,  of  course,  done  as 
secretly  as  was  possible.  Its  open  work  consisted  only  of 
continued  agitation  in  all  parts  of  the  state  against  the  in- 
fluence of  the  foreign-born  Catholic  element.  The  latter  was 
for  a  time  cowed  by  the  strength  of  the  nativist  movement, 
and  endured  quietly  the  opprobrium  cast  upon  it.  Efforts 
were  made  by  the  nativist  movement,  also,  to  secure  legisla- 
tion, but  with  little  success.  The  proposal  to  disband  all 
foreign-born  militiamen  2  was  put  aside  by  the  legislature,  as 
was  also  the  proposal  to  require  twenty-one  years  of  residence 
for  naturalization.  The  bill  to  deport  foreign  paupers  and  crim- 
inals was  lost.  The  one  successful  piece  of  legislation  was 

1  See  Barker's  address. 

2  Text  of  petition  in  Herald,  1855,  February  15,  p.  8. 


I42  POLITICAL  NATfVISM  [340 

the  bill  on  church  tenures,  which  gave  lay  trustees  a  voice  in 
the  control  of  church  property,  and  which  was  contrary  to  the 
Catholic  custom  of  episcopal  control.  It  was  in  reference  to 
this  bill  that  Erastus  Brooks  and  Archbishop  Hughes  had 
their  famous  controversy  over  the  amount  of  church  property 
held  in  the  archbishop's  name.1  The  argument  went  on 
through  a  long  series  of  letters  in  the  daily  press.  It  was 
very  pointed,  sometimes  even  violent,  and  closed  with  the 
friends  of  both  sides  claiming  victory.  These  letters  placed 
Senator  Brooks  before  the  public  as  one  of  the  great  cham- 
pions of  nativism,  and  made  him  later  a  leader  of  the  move- 
ment for  which  he  had  worked.  On  the  whole,  the  secret 
organization  of  the  Know-Nothings  did  not  attract  attention 
during  the  spring  of  1855  except  when  it  showed  its  work  in 
the  local  elections  or  when  the  press  chronicled  the  sessions 
of  the  Grand  Council. 

On  May  8,  1855,  came  the  regular  quarterly  session  of  the 
Grand  Council,  held  at  Syracuse  and  lasting  three  days.* 
President  Barker  reported  1060  councils  with  about  178,000 
members,  and  this,  he  admitted,  was  close  to  high-water 
mark.  The  work  of  expansion  was  now  practically  done.  It 
could  not  be  expected  that  many  new  councils  would  be 
added  in  the  future,  and  the  treasury  of  the  Order  must  be 
filled  by  some  means  other  than  the  fees  which  had  filled  it  in 
the  past.  The  new  constitution  must  also  be  completed,  he 
said.  The  former  methods  of  making  local  nominations  by 
convention  were  open  to  objection,  and  it  would  be  well  to 
adopt  some  system  that  could  bring  the  voters  into  closer 
touch  with  the  selection  of  candidates.  The  reform  in  the 
selection  of  district  deputies  had  been  begun  by  him.  In 
some  counties  he  had  appointed  a  deputy  for  each  assembly 
district  and  all  deputies  were  now  appointed  on  recommenda- 

1  Controversy  between  Senator  Brooks  and  j-  John. 

"For  session  see  Times,  1855,  May  9,  10,  n,  12;  Herald,  1855,  May  13.  Text 
of  Barker's  address  in  Herald \  1855,  May  16,  p.  4. 


34 1 ]  THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE  ^3 

tion  of  those  over  whom  they  were  to  exercise  authority. 
Also,  he  recommended  a  declaration  of  principles  which 
would  show  where  the  Order  in  New  York  state  stood.  He 
phrased  his  ideas  as  follows  : * 

First,  Americans  shall  rule  America. 

Second,  The  Union  of  the  States. 

Third,  No  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West. 

Fourth,  The  United  States  of  America,  as  they  are,  one  and  inseparable. 

Fifth,  No  sectarian  influence  in  our  legislation  or  the  administration  of  Ameri- 
can laws. 

Sixth,  Hostility  to  the  assumptions  of  the  Pope,  through  the  bishops,  priests  and 
prelates  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  here  in  a  Republic  sanctified  by  Protestant 
blood. 

Seventh,  Thorough  reform  in  the  naturalization  laws. 

Eighth,  Free  and  liberal  educational  institutions  for  all  sects  and  classes  with 
the  Bible,  God's  Holy  Word,  as  a  universal  text-book. 

President  Barker's  suggestions  were  generally  followed  by 
the  Council.  The  new  constitution  received  final  form.  It 
was  voted  that  each  county  should  make  nominations  in  such 
manner  as  it  might  choose.  The  declaration  of  principles  was 
formally  endorsed.  This  declaration  embodied  the  neutral 
policy  set  forth  at  Cincinnati  in  the  new  third-degree  oath. 
The  act  of  the  New  York  Grand  Council  in  adopting  it  marks 
the  complete  success  of  Barker  in  harmonizing  the  state 
organization  with  the  national  policy  of  the  Order.  The  work 
was  easy  in  New  York  because  the  anti-slavery  element, 
weighted  down  by  its  friendship  for  Seward,  had  been  prac- 
tically eliminated  from  the  Order  by  the  agency  of  the  test 
before  the  new  policy  came  up  for  consideration. 

In  other  states  of  the  Union  the  secret  order  was  less 
happily  conditioned.  In  several  of  the  northern  states  the 
anti-slavery  element  in  the  Order  was  strong  and  ill-disposed 
to  stand  neutral  on  the  great  slavery  issue.  In  Massachusetts 
the  anti-slavery  men  controlled  their  Grand  Council  and 
refused  to  ratify  the  Cincinnati  ritual.  In  several  other  grand 

1  See  Barker's  address. 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


[342 


councils  the  slavery  question  was  dragged  into  debate  and 
provoked  factional  divisions.  As  the  June  session  of  the 
National  Council  drew  near,  it  was  clearly  seen  that  several 
northern  states  would  send  to  it  delegates  more  or  less 
violently  anti-slavery  in  opinion,  while  the  southern  states 
would  send  representatives  no  less  violently  in  favor  of  pro- 
slavery  ideas.  Under  these  circumstances  a  conflict  in  the 
national  body  was  certain  unless  good  management  could 
avert  it.  On  June  5,  1855,  the  National  Council  met  at 
Philadelphia,  with  President  Barker  in  the  chair  and  every 
state  in  the  Union  represented  by  delegates.1  For  New  York 
appeared  James  W.  Barker,  of  New  York,  Thomas  J.  Lyons, 
of  Orange,  L.  Sprague  Parsons,  of  Albany,  Stephen  Sammons, 
of  Montgomery,  Selah  Squires,  of  Chenango,  Stephen  V.  R. 
Mallory,  of  Ontario,  and  Horatio  Seymour,  Jr.,  of  Erie.  In 
the  work  of  organizing  the  Council  the  suspicious  attitude  of 
the  South  showed  itself,  and  the  delegation  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  was  admitted  to  the  floor  in  order  to  placate  the 
South  by  balancing  the  free-state  and  slave-state  representa- 
tion. President  Barker's  annual  address  referred  disapprov- 
ingly to  the  anti-slavery  issue.  On  June  8th  the  election  of 
officers  made  E.  B.  Bartlett,  of  Kentucky,  the  National 
President  of  the  Order.  Barker  was  a  candidate  for  re  elec- 
tion, but  was  set  aside  in  favor  of  a  man  more  closely  linked 
with  Southern  interests.  In  these  earlier  days  of  the  Council, 
then,  the  Southern  members  showed  their  intention  of 
dominating  its  action  to  guard  their  interests.  All  looked 
anxiously  forward  to  the  report  of  the  committee  on  platform, 
which  would  precipitate  a  conflict,  if  conflict  there  were  to  be. 
All  through  the  earlier  days  of  the  session  there  was  active 
political  discussion  among  the  delegates,  and  by  the  time  the 
matter  of  principles  came  up  for  formal  action  the  conserva- 
tive delegates  had  mostly  been  swept  out  of  neutrality  into  one 

1  This  account  is  made  from  Herald  and   Tribune  reports.      Text  of  Barker'^ 
address  in  Herald,  1855,  July  2,  p.  3. 


243]  THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE  \^ 

or  the  other  of  the  aggressive  factions.  Unfortunately  there 
was  no  master-mind  or  guiding  clique  to  quell  the  storm.  On 
June  i  ith,  instead  of  a  report  on  platform,  the  Council  received 
reports  from  the  committee  on  resolutions,  which  brought  the 
crucial  question  before  it.  There  were  two  reports.  The 
majority  report,  drawn  up  by  Burwell  of  Virginia,  embodied 
the  pro-slavery  ideas,  while  the  minority  report  was  distinctly 
in  opposition.  Then  the  contest  began.  The  debate  which 
began  on  the  nth  lasted  all  through  the  1 2th  and  1 3th.  The 
North  and  South  were  fairly  pitted  against  each  other. 
Secrecy  as  to  the  contest  was  impossible,  and  the  daily  press 
of  the  nation  chronicled  day  by  day  its  progress.  The  small 
conservative  element  in  the  Council  tried  to  turn  aside  the 
trouble  by  a  compromise,  but  the  resolution  which  Raynor,  of 
North  Carolina,  introduced  for  that  purpose  was  promptly 
killed.  Late  on  the  I3th  the  Council  rejected  the  minority 
report  and  accepted  the  majority  report.  This  act  decided 
that  the  national  policy  of  the  Order,  so  far  as  the  National 
Council  could  declare  it,  was  to  be  pro-slavery  in  character. 
The  text  of  .the  Burwell  resolutions  was  as  follows  :x 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Party,  having  risen  upon  the  ruins  and  in  spite  of 
the  opposition  of  the  Whig  and  Democratic  Parties,  cannot  be  held  in  any  manner 
responsible  for  the  obnoxious  acts  and  violated  pledges  of  either;  that  the  systematic 
agitation  of  the  slavery  question  by  those  parties  has  elevated  sectional  hostility  into 
a  positive  element  of  political  power,  and  brought  our  institutions  into  peril:  It  has 
therefore  become  the  imperative  duty  of  the  American  Party  to  interpose  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  peace  to  the  country  and  perpetuity  to  the  Union;  That  as  expe- 
rience has  shown  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  opinions  so  extreme  as  those  which 
separate  the  disputants,  and  as  there  can  be  no  dishonor  in  submitting  to  the  laws, 
the  National  Council  has  deemed  it  the  best  guarantee  of  common  justice  and 
future  peace  to  abide  by  and  maintain  the  existing  laws  upon  the  subject  of  slavery 
as  a  final  and  conclusive  settlement  of  that  subject  in  spirit  and  in  substance. 

Resolved,  That,  regarding  it  as  the  highest  duty  to  avow  these  opinions  upon  a 
subject  so  important  in  distinct  and  unequivocal  terms,  it  is  hereby  declared  as  the 
sense  of  the  National  Council  that  Congress  possesses  no  power  under  the  Consti- 
tution to  legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  states  or  to  exclude  any  state 

1  Text  in  Tribune,  1855,  June  15,  p.  5. 


I46  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

from  admission  into  the  Union  because  its  constitution  does  or  does  not  recognize 
the  institution  of  slavery  as  a  part  of  her  social  system;  and  expressly  pretermitting 
any  expression  of  opinion  upon  the  power  of  Congress  to  establish  or  prohibit 
slavery  in  the  territories,  it  is  the  sense  of  this  National  Council  that  Congress  ought 
ftot  to  legislate  on  the  subject  of  slavery  within  the  territories  of  the  United  States, 
«nd  that  any  interference  by  Congress  with  slavery  as  it  exists  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  would  be  a  violation  of  the  spirit  and  intention  of  the  compact  by  which 
the  State  of  Maryland  ceded  the  District  to  the  United  States,  and  a  breach  of  the 
national  faith. 

On  the  morning  of  the  I4th  came  the  sequel  to  the  victory 
of  the  pro-slavery  men.  Led  by  the  Massachusetts  delegation 
the  Northern  members  met  in  caucus,  every  free  state  except 
New  York  being  represented.  One  of  the  most  outspoken 
anti-slavery  delegates,  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  was 
made  chairman.  Under  his  leadership  the  caucus  formulated 
an  "  Appeal  to  the  People,"  which  declared  the  principles  of 
its  signers  to  be  nativism  and  anti-slavery.1  Many  of  the 
anti-slavery  men  then  abandoned  the  Council  session  and  left 
the  city.  This  action  of  the  minority  was  hailed  at  the  time 
as  the  first  revolt  of  the  North  against  Southern  dictation." 
The  anti-Southern  newspapers  delightedly  described  the  in- 
cident as  a  split  in  the  secret  order.  In  this  they  were  hardly 
correct,  for  no  delegate  to  the  National  Council  could,  by  his 
individual  act,  bind  the  Grand  Council  which  he  represented, 
and  a  secession  of  members  merely  left  certain  states  unrepre- 
sented. It  did  not  sever  such  unrepresented  states  from  the 
Order.  Not  all  the  Northern  members  left  the  session,  indeed, 
after  the  caucus  of  the  I4th.  Many  remained  in  their  seats 
and  the  Council  went  on  with  its  work.  The  formal  platform 
of  the  Order  was  now  adopted.  It  was  a  long  document  in 
which  the  text  of  the  Burwell  resolutions  was  incorporated  as 
the  twelfth  section.3  It  was  under  the  phrase  of"  the  twelfth 
section "  that  they  were  afterward  mentioned  in  discussions. 

^ext  of  Appeal  in  Tribune,  1855,  June   15,  p.  5. 

1  Times,  1855,  June  15,  p.  4. 

'Text  of  platform  in  Herald  and  Tribune  of  '855,  June  16. 


345]  THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE  i^j 

The  Council  ordered  a  session  on  July  4,  1856,  to  nominate  a 
presidential  ticket,  and  provided  a  basis  of  representation  for 
it.  Adjournment  finally  took  place  on  June  I5th.  This 
session  was  the  turning-point  in  the  fortunes  of  the  secret 
order  as  a  national  power.  The  pro-slavery  men,  by  their 
insistence,  had  written  the  doom  of  the  movement  and  thrust 
aside  a  golden  opportunity  to  avert  the  calamities  of  the 
future.  Henceforth  the  slavery  issue  dominated  national 
politics  unchecked. 

The  course  followed  by  the  New  York  delegation  in  the 
Philadelphia  session  had  been  throughout  friendly  to  the 
South.  The  explanation  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  New  York 
had  two  aspirants  for  the  presidential  nomination  of  1856. 
Millard  Fillmore,  of  Buffalo,  ex-president  of  the  United  States 
and  former  head  of  the  Silver-Gray  faction  of  Whigs  had  in 
1852  been  the  favorite  of  the  New  York  nativists  for  the 
presidency,  and  had  in  1854  helped  the  secret  order  to  its 
splendid  growth  in  New  York  state  by  throwing  his  influence 
in  its  favor.  Early  in  1855,  having  previously  remained  out- 
side of  the  secret  order,  he  became  a  nominal  member  x  and  a 
candidate  for  nomination  as  president.  George  Law,  of  New 
York  city,  was  a  wealthy  contractor,  new  to  politics,  but 
popular,  ambitious,  liberal  and  likely  to  take  well  with  the 
voters  if  lucky  enough  to  get  a  nomination.2  He  began  his 
canvass  in  February,  1855,  and  was  sedulously  "boomed"  by 
several  newspapers  of  the  state.  With  presidential  ambitions 
to  be  promoted,  the  course  of  the  New  York  managers  was 
plain.  They  must  court  the  favor  of  the  South  or  nativism 
could  not  carry  a  presidential  election.  The  Know-Nothing 
Order  had  made  great  progress  in  the  Southern  states,  wel- 
comed as  an  organization  which  was  thoroughly  opposed  to 
sectional  ideas.  The  attitude  taken  in  the  North  by  its  anti- 


,  1856,  March  3,  p.  3,  August  5,  p.  3. 
'Biography,  three  columns,  in  Herald^  1855,  June  2,  p.  r. 


I4g  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [346 

slavery  members  and  the  fact  that  the  Order  had  been  non- 
committal on  the  slavery  issue  had  of  late,  however,  caused  the 
movement  to  be  viewed  by  the  South  with  distrust.  It  was  on 
account  of  this  distrust,  apparently,  that  the  Know-Nothings 
lost  the  Virginia  election  of  May,  1855,  just  before  the  Phila- 
delphia session.1  It  certainly  seemed  best  at  the  moment  to 
side  with  the  element  which  demanded  assurances  favorable 
to  slavery,  and  New  York  did  so.  In  a  presidential  election  the 
thirty-five  electors  of  New  York,  backed  by  the  1 20  votes  of  the 
slave  states,  could  seat  their  candidate.  Of  course  the  Order 
could  not  be  sure  of  all  the  Southern  states,  but  since  the 
North  was  divided  on  the  slavery  question  that  side  of  the 
controversy  was  to  be  favored  which  seemed  least  sectional. 
When  the  anti-slavery  men  of  the  National  Council  drew 
apart  in  caucus  the  New  York  delegation  held  aloof  and  voted 
for  the  pro-slavery  platform.  It  must  nevertheless  have  been 
offensive  to  some  of  them.  The  close  of  the  Council  session 
brought  Barker  and  his  friends  back  to  New  York  with  a  new 
problem  on  their  hands.  They  had  before  this  crushed  out 
anti-slavery  in  the  Order  and  had  successfully  put  the  society 
organization  on  a  platform  of  neutrality  as  to  the  slavery 
issue.  Now  they  must  go  still  further  and  make  the  Order  in 
New  York  state  plainly  pro- slavery  to  agree  with  the  national 
platform. 

No  time  was  lost  in  beginning  the  work.  On  June  i8th,  in 
response  to  a  call  signed  by  the  seven  delegates  of  the 
National  Council,  an  immense  mass-meeting  was  held  at  New 
York  in  City  Hall  Park.2  This  action  committed  the  secret 
order  in  New  York  city  to  the  new  platform.  Of  the  steps 
taken  to  swing  the  interior  counties  into  line  no  record  re- 
mains. The  Order  was  by  no  means  unanimous  in  favor  of 
the  pro-slavery  platform.  Here  and  there  were  heard  expres- 

1  Herald,  1855,  MaY  27>  P-  4- 

2  Full  reports  in  Herald  and  Tribune. 


347]  THE  INTRUSION  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE 

sions  of  dissent.  A  few  councils  surrendered  their  charters 
and  disbanded.  Others  protested  but  remained  faithful.  In  J_ 
general  the  Order  remained  quietly  waiting  developments.  It 
was  noticeable  that  in  New  York  state  there  was  no  special 
Grand  Council  session  called  to  consider  a  ratification  of  the 
action  taken  at  Philadelphia.  In  other  states  where  the  grand 
councils  met  for  this  purpose  there  was  a  general  breaking 
away  from  the  established  principles  of  the  secret  system. 
Massachusetts  openly  seceded.1  Other  states  began  to  alter 
their  secret  systems  at  their  own  discretion  without  any  regard 
to  the  national  unity  of  the  Order2  The  Philadelphia  session 
was,  as  the  New  York  Tribune  gleefully  said,  "  the  beginning 
of  the  end "  of  the  secret  national  nativist  movement.  In 
Ohio  some  seceders  from  the  Know-Nothing  Order  organized 
a  rival  order,  and  under  the  name"  Know-Somethings"  strove 
for  national  expansion,5  but  their  movement  failed  to  attain 
strength  although  it  secured  a  foothold  in  several  states. 
On  August  2 ist  the  committee  of  correspondence  which  had 
been  created  at  the  bolters'  caucus  during  the  Philadelphia 
session  issued  a  call  for  a  gathering  of  anti-slavery  Know- 
Nothings  at  Cincinnati  on  November  2 ist,  the  object  being  a 
re-organization  of  the  secret  movement  on  an  anti-slavery 
basis.4  Meanwhile,  amid  all  these  reports  of  changes  and  dis- 
integration, the  New  York  organization  was  held  quiescent, 
looking  forward  to  the  regular  quarterly  session  of  the  Grand 
Council  in  August,  when  the  matter  of  politics  must  necessarily 
be  discussed.  During  the  weeks  that  intervened  between  the 
Philadelphia  session  and  the  August  Council  the  sentiment  of 
the  Order  had  time  to  shape  itself,  guided,  of  course,  by  the 
local  leaders.  It  was  in  this  time  that  there  began  in  New 

1  Text  of  address  in  Herald,  1855,  June  30,  p.  i. 

*  Tribune,  1855,  August  II,  p.  5. 
1  Tribune,  1855,  January  17,  p.  5. 

*  Text  of  call  in  Tribune,  1855,  August  31,  p.  6. 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

York  city  an  earnest  and  determined  opposition  to  the  power 
of  the  clique  headed  by  James  W.  Barker.  The  slavery  issue 
mingled  itself  with  this  movement  of  dissatisfaction  and  aided 
in  weakening  Barker's  influence  in  the  Order.  A  factional 
division  thus  developed  itself  quietly,  having  on  one  side  the 
Barker  clique  and  the  southeastern  counties,  while  in  opposi- 
tion stood  the  old  leaders  of  the  Silver-Grays,  supported  by 
the  interior  districts.1  The  Barker  clique  stood  for  ratification 
of  the  Philadelphia  platform,  while  the  opposition  element 
favored  frank  concessions  to  the  growing  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment in  the  state. 

The  Grand  Council  eventually  met  August  28,  1855,  at 
Binghamton,  with  a  small  attendance  of  delegates.3  On  the 
first  day,  after  organizing,  it  selected  places  for  the  next 
Council  session  and  for  a  state  nominating  convention.  On 
the  second  day  the  matter  of  the  platform  came  up.  In  the 
morning  a  report  was  received  from  the  delegates  who  had 
represented  the  Grand  Council  at  Philadelphia  and  the  subject 
was  then  referred  to  a  special  committee  on  platform.  At 
the  evening  session  this  committee  brought  in  its  report. 
Almost  unanimously  the  committee  turned  its  back  on  the 
pro-slavery  program  of  the  Philadelphia  session,  and  held  the 
order  in  New  York  state  to  the  old  policy  of  neutrality. 
The  two  resolutions  in  which  its  position  was  specially  de- 
clared were  phrased,  one  in  a  way  to  please  the  anti-slavery 
men  and  the  other  in  a  way  to  please  the  opposite  group. 
This  platform  as  reported  by  committee  was  at  once  accepted 
by  vote  of  the  Council.  On  the  third  day  of  the  session  the 
Council  created  a  new  state  committee,  composed  of  one 
member  from  each  senatorial  district,  and  then  adjourned. 
The  significance  of  the  Council's  action  on  the  platform  was  a 
little  vague  in  most  ways.  It  was  a  skillful  effort  to  satisfy 

1  Tribune,  1855,  August  29,  p.  5. 

1  This  account  is  from  Tribune  reports. 


349]  THE  I^TRUS1ON  OF  THE  SLAVERY  ISSUE  i$i 

both  sides  of  the  slavery  controversy.  The  fact  was  evident, 
however,  that  the  refusal  to  accept  the  Philadelphia  platform 
meant  a  defeat  for  the  Barker  clique,  a  severance  of  open 
alliance  with  the  South,  and  practically,  though  not  in  so 
many  words,  a  repudiation  of  the  pro-slavery  position  of  the 
National  Council.  The  platform  as  adopted  by  the  Bingham- 
ton  Council  was  modeled  upon  that  previously  adopted  at  the 
May  Council,  but  was  more  explicit  on  the  slavery  question.1 
It  follows  : 

First,  Americans  to  rule  America. 

Second,  The  maintenance  of  the  Union  and  the  compromises  of  the  Constitution 
faithfully  fulfilled. 

Third,  The  absolute  exclusion  from  the  creed  of  the  American  Party  of  all  sec- 
tional doctrines  that  are  against  the  sense  of  any  portion  of  the  American  Union, 
and  the  disuse  of  the  name,  influence  or  organization  of  the  American  Party  to 
advance  any  measure  against  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  states,  or  the  intention 
or  effect  of  which  shall  be  to  endanger  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union. 

Fourth,  No  sectional*  interference  in  our  legislature,  and  no  proscription  of  per- 
sons on  account  of  religious  opinions. 

Fifth,  Hostility  to  the  assumptions  of  the  papal  power  through  the  bishops,  pre- 
lates, priests,  or  ministers  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  as  anti  republican  in 
principle  and  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

Sixth,  Thorough  reform  in  the  naturalization  laws  of  the  federal  government. 

Seventh,  The  enactment  of  the  laws  for  the  protection  of  the  purity  of  the  ballot 
box  by  the  state. 

Eighth,  Free  and  reliable  institutions  for  the  education  of  all  classes  of  the 
people,  with  the  Bible  as  a  text-book  in  our  common  schools. 

Resolved,  That  the  national  administration,  by  its  general  course  of  official  con- 
duct, together  with  an  attempt  to  destroy  the  repose,  harmony  and  fraternal  rela- 
tion of  the  country  in  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise,  and  the  encourage- 
ment of  aggression  upon  the  government  of  the  territorial  inhabitants  of  Kansas, 
deserves  and  should  receive  the  united  condemnation  of  the  American  people, 
and  that  the  institution  of  slavery  should  derive  no  extension  from  such  repeal. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  organization  of  the  American  Order  the  institution  of 
involuntary  servitude  was  and  now  is  regarded  as  local  and  not  national  in  its  char- 
acter, a  subject  for  the  toleration  of  a  difference  of  opinion  by  the  citizens  of  the 
northern  and  southern  states,  and  as  such  has  no  rightful  place  in  the  platform  of 
the  national  American  Party. 

1  Text  of  platform  in  Tribune,  1855,  August  30,  p.  4. 
'Query:  Sectarian? 


I $2  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [350 

This  platform  did  not  show  any  new  developments  in  the 
policy  of  the  secret  order,  but  rather  a  maintenance  of  its  old 
endeavor  to  keep  nativism  to  the  fore  as  its  one  real  basis  of 
effort.  The  Order  stood  for  compromise  and  peace  on  the 
slavery  issue.  The  real  significance  of  the  Binghamton  plat- 
form in  the  history  of  the  Order  was  its  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  the  organization  must  not  go  too  far  in  defiance  of 
anti-Southern  sentiment.  In  other  words  the  nativist  move- 
ment, with  all  its  splendid  machinery,  was  not  strong  enough 
to  disregard  the  anti-slavery  movement.  Heretofore,  the  two 
issues  had  been  rivals  in  New  York  politics,  with  nativism 
foremost.  Now  the  tide  was  turning  and  anti-slavery  was 
taking  the  lead. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   STATE   CAMPAIGN    OF  1855 

THE  break-down  of  the  old  Whig  and  Democratic  Parties 
in  New  York  state  which  began  in  1854  was  continued  through 
the  state  campaign  of  1855.  Before  the  aggressive  action  of 
new  issues  embodied  in  specially  organized  movements  the 
old  partisan  fabrics  exhibited  such  disruption  and  weakness  as 
seemed  to  foretell  their  utter  extinction.  The  Know-Nothing 
organization  stood  out  above  all  forces  in  the  early  months  of 
1855  as  a  force  destructive  of  old  methods  in  politics.  Its 
vitality  was  astounding.  It  had  at  its  service  an  enthusiasm 
such  as  few  political  parties  could  hope  to  meet  in  their  own. 
It  was  sleepless,  ubiquitous,  cunning  and  aggressive.  In  the 
fall  elections  of  1854  it  rivaled  the  older  parties  in  its  strength. 
In  the  local  spring  elections  of  1855  it  overtopped  them  all 
and  forced  its  opponents  to  unite  in  sheer  self-defense,  regard- 
less of  party  names.  It  stood,  in  the  spring  of  1855,  easily  the 
most  powerful  single  political  body  in  the  state.  Next  to  it  in 
strength  stood  the  Democratic.  Party.  The  dual  organizations 
of  the  Soft- Shells  or  administration  men  and  the  Hard-Shells 
or  anti-administration  men  still  faced  each  other  in  the  spring 
of  1855  with  unaltered  stubbornness,  each  claiming  to  be  the 
true  representative  of  the  old  party.  The  dismembered  party 
was  losing  voters  to  the  organized  movements  continually,  but 
yet  it  had  a  vitality  and  hopefulness  that  made  it  a  strong 
factor  in  state  politics.  There  was  just  a  possibility  of  a 
re-union  of  the  factions  for  campaign  work,  and  in  such  event 
the  Democracy,  despite  its  losses,  might  be  stronger  than 
organized  nativism. 


154  POLITICAL  XAT2VISAI  [352 

Outside  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order  and  the  disorganized 
Democracy  there  was  no  one  strong  aggressive  force  in  the 
field  in  the  early  spring  of  1855,  Dut  political  prophets  were 
not  deceived  by  appearances.  Men  knew  that  out  of  the  less 
powerful  organizations  of  the  day  the  skillful  leaders  of  the  old 
Whig  Party  would  build  up  a  coalition  of  some  sort  that 
would  be  strong  enough  to  make  at  least  an  effort  toward  con- 
trol of  the  state.  The  material  for  such  a  coalition  was  to  be 
found  in  the  organized  temperance  movement,  the  Whig  Party 
system  and  the  chaotic  anti-slavery  movement.  The  temper- 
ance movement  was  bound  to  the  Seward  clique  by  its  obliga- 
tion to  repay  the  favor  of  a  prohibitory  liquor  law  enacted  in 
April,  1855.  The  Whig  Party  was  bound  to  the  Seward 
clique  by  the  fact  that  the  latter  held  control  of  its  machinery. 
The  anti-slavery  movement  was  bound  to  the  same  clique  by 
the  lack  of  any  other  leaders  on  whom  it  could  rely  for  suc- 
cess. Of  these  forces  which  stood  ready  to  Seward's  hand 
probably  the  strongest  in  the  spring  of  1855  was  the  organized 
temperance  movement.  Encouraged  by  the  winning  of  a  pro- 
hibitory law  and  militant  against  a  threatened  repeal,  the  or- 
ganization was  capable  of  showing  important  results  in  a  state 
campaign.  Its  strength  lay,  of  course,  largely  in  the  smaller 
villages  and  towns.  Next  to  the  temperance  movement  as  a 
political  force  was  the  Whig  organization,  which  was  now  only 
a  remnant  of  the  old  party.  Of  the  two  factions  which  existed 
in  1854  one  was  absorbed  into  the  nativist  movement  and  the 
other  was  rapidly  dwindling  into  nothingness.  The  party  as 
it  stood  was  a  weak  affair,  but  its  name  was  a  valuable  asset 
and  carried  with  it  the  control  of  some  thousands  of  votes. 
The  anti-slavery  movement  was  not  strong  in  organization  in 
the  spring  of  1855,  though  anti-slavery  sentiment  was  wide- 
spread in  the  community.  The  two  organizations  of  the  Anti- 
Nebraska  men  and  the  Free  Democrats  which  had  shared  in 
the  campaign  of  1854  still  retained  in  1855  a  vague  form  of 
embodiment  but  their  platforms  needed  alteration  to  fit  the 


353]  THE  STA  TE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1833  1 5  5 

more  recent  phases  of  the  slavery  question.  Such  as  they 
were,  however,  the  two  groups  were  natural  allies  of  the  Sew- 
ard  interest. 

The  state  offices  to  be  filled  at  the  election  of  1855  were  not 
of  unusual  importance,  since  neither  the  governorship  nor  the 
senatorshios  of  the  state  would  depend  upon  the  result  of  the 
election.  Line  significance  of  the  campaign  lay,  therefore,  not 
so  much  in  the  offices  at  stake  as  in  the  prophecy  which  it 
would  hold  of  the  coming  events  of  1856,  the  presidential 
year.7  The  disruption  of  parties  which  had  been  taking  place 
in  New  York  state  was  no  local  phenomenon.  The  same 
change  was  going  on  all  over  the  Union.  Everywhere  the 
party  systems  were  going  to  wreck  in  consequence  of  faction 
fights  and  the  inroads  of  new  issues.  Organized  nativism  in- 
tended to  put  a  presidential  ticket  in  the  field  in  1856  and 
seemed  destined  to  success.  The  Democratic  Party  undoubt- 
edly would  survive  its  trials  and  also  have  its  regular  national 
ticket  in  the  field.  Less  fortunate,  the  Whig  Party  could  not 
hope  to  cope  with  either  of  its  rivals  unless  a  miracle  could 
turn  back  the  tide  of  disruption  and  unite  its  membership 
upon  a  real  issue.  The  Nebraska  matter  and  the  Kansas 
struggle  kept  the  slavery  issue  before  the  nation  during  1854 
and  1855.  All  through  the  North  there  was  a  strong  anti- 
slavery  feeling.  Before  the  winter  of  1854-55  was  over  men 
were  beginning  to  talk  of  a  great  anti-Southern  political  move- 
ment. In  New  York  state  it  was  sometimes  said  that  Senator 
Seward  would  look  to  such  a  movement  for  a  presidential 
nomination  in  1856.  Under  these  circumstances  the  vote  cast 
by  the  respective  groups  in  the  state  of  New  York  in  1855 
would  be  an  important  hint  of  what  that  pivotal  state  might 
be  expected  to  do  in  the  presidential  contest  of  the  following 
year.  It  might  have  been  foretold,  therefore,  that  the  state 
campaign  of  1855  would  be  a  struggle  in  which  the  chief 
figures  would  be  organized  nativism  pitted  against  a  Seward 
coalition. 


!C|6  POLITICAL  NATIV1SM 

Within  the  first  six  months  of  1855  the  political  leaders 
began  to  marshal  their  respective  forces  into  line.  The  nativ- 
ist  movement  was  represented  chiefly  by  the  Know-Nothing 
Order,  but  there  were  some  thousands  of  nativist  voters  out- 
side of  the  Order.  The  secret  Order  of  United  Americans 
had  possibly  30,000  members  scattered  all  over  the  state,  but 
most  numerous  in  the  south-eastern  counties.  The  secret 
Order  of  the  American  Star  had  probably  not  over  5,000 
voters,  almost  wholly  in  New  York  and  Kings  counties.  The 
secret  society -of  the  "  Allen  Know-Nothings"  had  an  unknown 
number  of  voters  in  New  York  city.  The  secret  American 
Protestant  Association  and  kindred  societies  also  had  their 
members.  Barker  and  his  friends  were  able  to  exercise  influ- 
ence in  nearly  all  these  groups.  The  American  Star  was  re- 
organized wholly.  When  Patten,  the  founder  of  the  society, 
left  the  city,  the  leadership  of  it  fell  to  Jacob  B.  Bacon,  an  ally 
of  Barker.  Then  a  plan  was  carried  out  in  which  the  society 
was  re-formed  on  the  Know-Nothing  model.1  It  became  a 
federation  of  "temples,"  governed  by  a  grand  temple.  Its 
political  work  was  directed  by  a  board  composed  of  the  five 
chief  officers  of  the  grand  temple.  Its  declared  mission  was 
in  part  to  "  act  politically  with  the  great  national  American 
Party,  aiding  to  elect  its  candidates  and  working  to  carry  out  its 
principles."  In  April,  1855,  the  society  had  eighty-four  temples 
and  10,000  members,  not  all  of  whom  were  voters.2  About 
the  same  time  that  the  American  Star  was  re-organized  a  plan 
was  set  on  foot  in  the  O.  U .  A.  to  re-organize  its  executive 
system  into  a  form  similar  to  that  of  the  Know- Nothings. 
There  seems  no  direct  evidence  that  the  Barker  clique  were 
the  movers  in  this  plan,  but  it  coincided  curiously  well  with 
their  policy.  The  proposed  innovation  contemplated  a  fed- 

1  Pamphlet  in  Gildersleeve  Coll.,  and  reprint  of  same  in  Tribune,  1855,  Sep- 
tember 5,  p.  7,  gives  ritual  complete.  Times,  1855,  September  5,  p.  I,  Septem- 
ber 6,  p.  2,  also  gives  ritual.  Times,  1855,  October  20,  p.  2,  gives  constitution. 

*  Times,  1855,  October  20,  p.  2. 


THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1853  157 

crated  group  of"  executive  associations  "  controlled  by  certain 
persons  who  would  possess  an  "  executive  degree."  The 
executive  associations  were  to  be  composed  of  voters  recruited 
from  the  ranks  of  the  Order.  The  plan  was  an  elaboration  of 
the  previously  used  O.  U.  A.  machinery.  On  April  24th,  the 
grand  executive  committee  recommended  the  new  scheme  to 
Arch-Chancery,  and  in  May  the  Executive  Convention  took 
like  action.1  Arch- Chancery,  in  August,  permitted  the  new 
system  to  be  tried.  While  the  three  chief  secret  societies  of 
the  nativist  movement  were  thus  approaching  a  common 
model,  their  forces  were  also  being  welded  together  into  har- 
mony in  political  action.  During  May  and  June  there  were 
sessions  in  New  York  city  of  delegates  from  all  the  nativist 
societies,  and  their  work  culminated  on  July  I3th  in  a  conven- 
tion which  marked  the  local  beginning  of  an  American  Party 
separate  and  distinct  from  any  one  secret  organization.  On 
August  28th,  when  the  Grand  Council  put  into  effect  a  new 
feature  of  organized  nativism  by  ordering  a  state  nominating 
convention,  its  action  similarly  showed  a  tendency  to  br^ak 
away  from  the  old  secret  system  and  create  an  open  party 
system  which  could  enlist  the  votes  of  those  nativists  who 
might  not  approve  the  secret  system.  As  yet,  however,  there 
was  no  suggestion  that  the  Know- Nothing  Order  itself  give 
up  its  secrecy. 

The  Seward  coalition  was  also  built  up  during  the  early- 
months  of  1855  with  anti-slavery  sentiment  as  its  source  of 
strength.  On  May  3<Dth  the  former  anti-Nebraska  movement 
was  revived  under  the  name  of  "  Republican."  This  name  of 
"  Republican"  was  in  frequent  use  all  through  the  North  dur- 
ing the  growth  of  anti-Southern  feeling.  The  name  was  used 
at  various  times,  in  various  states,  by  various  sorts  of  organi- 
zations, whose  various  principles  agreed  generally  in  the  one 
particular  of  opposition  to  Southern  interests.  In  New  York 
state  the  name  was  formally  assumed  in  September,  1854,  by 

1  Executive  records  of  O.  U.  A. 


POLITICAL  N  ATI  V  ISM 


[356 


a  group  in  the  anti-Nebraska  convention  who  wished  to  make 
the  movement  plainly  bi-partisan  in  character.  Their  wishes 
were  disregarded,  and  they  seceded,  creating  a  Republican 
organization,  and  then  merging  with  the  Free  Democracy.  At 
the  same  time  the  name  was  also  assumed  by  the  anti-Nebraska 
convention  in  a  motion  hastily  carried  during  the  excitement 
of  its  closing  hours,1  and  scarcely  referred  to  during  the  cam- 
paign that  followed  the  convention.  It  was  by  virtue  of  that 
motion  that  the  committee  appointed  by  the  convention  of 
1854  made  its  bow  in  May,  1855,  as  representative  of  the  new 
Republican  movement  devoted  to  the  Seward  interest.  The 
transformation  and  revival  of  the  former  anti-Southern  organi- 
zation made  no  stir  whatever,  nor  was  there  any  surprise  when, 
on  July  1  8th,  the  Republican  state  committee  and  the  Whig 
state  committee  met  together  and  called  conventions  to  meet 
on  the  same  day  in  September.  All  this  had  been  foreseen. 
It  was  merely  the  drawing  together  of  the  Seward  forces. 
Close  following  the  coalition  of  Whigs  and  Republicans  came 
other  steps  in  the  Seward  program.  On  July  25th  the  state 
committee  of  the  temperance  movement  met  and  issued  a  con- 
vention call  to  take  effect  on  the  day  following  the  Whig  and 
Republican  conventions.  This  meant  an  endorsement  by  the 
temperance  movement  of  Seward's  nominees.  Next,  on  July 
3  1st,  the  representatives  of  two  secret  political  societies  met  at 
Rochester  and  arranged  for  action  in  support  of  the  new  Re- 
publican movement.  Finally,  on  August  i6th,  the  Free  Demo- 
cratic state  committee  called  upon  its  followers  to  join  their 
efforts  in  aid  of  the  Republican  organization.  This  completed 
the  structure  on  which  the  Seward  interest  would  base  its 
hopes. 

The  part  taken  by  secret  societies  in  this  work  of  fusion  is 
not  at  all  important,  but  it  had  its  interesting  features.  The 
two  societies  concerned  were  the  so-called  "  Choctaws  "  and 

1  Tribune,  1854,  September  28,  p.  6. 


357]  7ffE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1835  !59 

the  "  Know-Somethings."  ^i*he  Choctaws  x  were  those  Know- 
Nothings  who  seceded  from  the  main  order  in  October,  1854, 
and  duplicated  the  secret  system.  They  did  not  claim  over 
150  councils  in  1855,  and  probably  had  much  less.  Their 
principles  included  opposition  to  slavery,  and  they  were  sup- 
porters of  Seward.  The  Know- Somethings  were  members  of  a 
secret  society  started  in  Ohio  in  January,  185 5,  by  Know-Noth- 
ing  seceders.2  In  principles  it  was  mildly  nativist  and  emphati- 
cally anti-slavery.  In  organization  it  followed  very  closely  the 
Know-Nothing  model,  except  that  it  had  but  one  degree,  and 
substituted  a  pledge  in  place  of  an  oath.  The  Know-Something 
Order  won  a  foothold  in  New  York  state,  probably  in  June, 
1855,  and  was  fostered  by  Seward  men  as  a  bait  to  draw  off 
members  from  the  Know-Nothing  society.  It  had  a  grand 
lodge,  of  which  William  C.  Parsons  was  chief  officer  with  the 
title  of  grand  president.  The  Order  failed,  however,  to  make 
any  headway  against  the  overwhelming  strength  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  system.  Asa  nativist  organization  it  was  a  sham,  for 
its  real  interest  lay  in  anti-Southern  agitation.  On  July  3 1st, 
in  response  to  official  calls,  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Choctaws 
and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Know-Somethings  met  at  Roch- 
ester, agreed  together  on  a  platform  and  voted  to  unite  at  a 
future  session  into  one  society.3  Together  they  called  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  from  their  subordinate  bodies  to  meet  at 
the  same  time  and  place  as  the  Republican  convention.  These 
allied  societies  voted  at  their  Rochester  session  to  eliminate 
from  their  rituals  all  hostility  to  foreigners.  The  only  nativist 
principle  which  they  retained  was  that  of  hostility  to  clerical 
influence  in  civil  affairs.  Practically  they  abandoned  nativism 
at  Rochester  when  they  revised  their  principles. 

1  Name  appears  in  Tribune,  1855,  March  16,  p.  5. 

1  On  its  origin  see  Tribune,  1855,  January  17,  p.  5,  March  7,  p.  6,  March  24, 
p.  6;  Herald,  1855,  January  20,  p.  3,  January  29,  p.  8,  March  10,  p.  2,  June 
14,  p.  i. 

1  Herald,  1855,  July  25,  p.  4,  July  28,  p.  I,  September  22,  p.  2. 


POLITICAL  NATIV2SM  [358 

The  plans  of  the  Seward  clique  were  fairly  well  revealed  by 
the  end  of  July,  and  the  public  turned  with  interest  to  the  two 
Democratic  state  conventions  which  were  to  take  place  in 
August.  There  had  been  some  hints  of  schemes  to  draw  the 
separated  Democratic  factions  into  union,  and  no  one  was  sure 
that  the  schemes  had  failed.  In  case  the  faction  leaders 
agreed  upon  alliance  the  Democracy  might  yet  control  the 
state.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  possible  coalition  of 
Hard-Shells  and  Know-Nothings  to  be  looked  for.  Rumor 
was  persistent  in  referring  to  this  possibility.1  It  was  clear 
enough  that  if  the  Hard-Shells  held  aloof  from  other  factors 
in  the  state  campaign  they  could  not  hope  to  win  any  of  the 
state  offices,  whereas  if  they  could  reach  an  agreement  with 
the  nativists  they  might  gain  a  share  of  the  spoils  without  los- 
ing their  factional  identity.  There  were  no  principles  to  stand 
in  the  way.  Nevertheless  when  the  Hard-Shell  convention 
met  on  August  23d,  it  was  found  that  the  organization  had  de- 
cided to  hold  its  own  course  in  the  state  campaign,  making 
concessions  to  nobody.  In  the  platform  there  was  incorpor- 
ated a  paragraph  that  in  mild  terms  condemned  nativism.  A 
few  days  later  the  Soft-Shell  state  convention  also  declared 
against  nativism.  This  was  expected,  since  the  Soft-Shells 
were  dependent  on  the  foreign  vote.  Both  of  the  dual  bodies 
of  the  Democracy  thus  kept  clear  of  the  taint  of  nativism  in 
their  platforms,  but  the  coming  election  was  to  show  that  the 
Hard-Shell  voters  took  a  different  attitude.  The  August 
Grand  Council  of  the  Know-Nothings  added  to  their  platform 
a  resolution  condemning  so  heartily  the  policy  of  President 
Pierce  that  it  could  not  but  enlist  Hard-Shell  sympathy.  It 
was  claimed  several  months  later,  but  without  good  proof,  that 
the  Hard-Shell  managers,  while  condemning  nativism  openly, 
at  the  same  time  supported  it  quietly  in  the  state  campaign. 

The  month  of  September  brought  about  the  successful 
launching  of  the  new  Republican  movement.  The  Seward 

1  E.  g.,  Times,  1855,  August  14,  p.  4. 


359]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  iStf  l6l 

men  all  over  the  state  generally  abandoned  the  use  of  the  old 

worn-out  Whig  organization  as  soon  as  the  word  was  passed 

to  place  the  new  Republican  movement  on  its  feet,  and  in  this 

work  they  were  aided  by  Democrats  of  anti-Southern  feelings* 

This  ready  co-operation  of  former  antagonists  was  due  to  the 

work  wrought  by  organized  movements  in  teaching  men  how 

to  belong  to  a  party  and  yet  act  with  organizations  outside  of      ,j#,  *,- 

party  lines.     The  Republican  movement  was  not  at  first  a  real      $$$£•/) 

party.     It  was  a  bi^rjartisan  organization  created^  primarily  to   L^^r  nK 

voice  anti-Southern  feeling,  and  secondarily  to  crush  organized    ft     ii 

nativism. Men  might  join  the  newlnovement  without  feeling 

that  they  thereby  lost  membership  in  the  older  parties.     Dur- 

ing  September  the  work  of  organization  went  on  under  the 

direction  of  the  state  committee.    Local  mass  meetings  created 

local   committees   and   chose   delegates   to   the  coming  state 

convention.    A  Republican  press  appeared  and  aided  the  work 

of  recruiting  by  its  vigorous  efforts  to  build  up  anti-Southern 

sentiment.     Thanks  to  the  energy  of  the   press  the  desired 

sentiment  grew  rapidly.     The  attention  of  the  voting  masses 

was  now  drawn  to  the  slavery  issue  more  closely  than  it  had 

ever  been  before. 

If  it  be  possible  to  set  any  definite  time  as  the  point  where 
the  nativist  movement  in  New  York  state  reached  its  height 
and  began  to  decline,  that  time  must  be  fixed  in  the  month  of 
September,  1855.  A  claim  was  made  for  it  about  this  time 
that  it  possessed  in  the  Know-Nothing  Order  alone  at  least 
185,000  votes.1  This  claim,  though  entirely  unofficial,  was 
yet  probably  very  close  to  actual  fact,  for  the  Order  had  re- 
ported 178,000  members  in  the  previous  May.  Nevertheless 
despite  its  enormous  membership,  nativism  had  reached  the 
turning  place.  Henceforth  the  movement  was  to  lose  strength 
steadily  year  by  year  until  its  end.  The  cause  of  its  changing 
fortune  lay  partly  in  itself  and  partly  in  the  character  of  its 
antagonists.  Organized  nativism  in  New  York  state  had  risen 

1  Herald,    1855,  July  29,  p.  4. 


POLITICAL  NAT  IV  ISM 


[360 


to  strength  at  a  time  when  there  was  no  organized  issue  of 
like  vitality  which  could  dispute  its  growth.  In  1854  neither 
temperance  nor  anti-slavery  had  the  ability  to  win  men  as 
nativism  did,  nor  could  the  broken  party  organizations  oppose 
it  successfully.  In  1855  the  situation  changed.  The  anti- 
slavery  issue,  re-organized  and  aggressive,  again  appealed  to 
the  voters,  and  this  time  won  the  recognition  that  it  demanded. 
The  re-organization  of  the  anti-slavery  movement  was  the 
turning  point  for  organized  nativism.  But  it  was  partly  in  the 
nativist  movement  itself  that  the  cause  of  its  decline  lay.  Its 
success  had  been  an  element  in  its  own  undoing.  The  knowl- 
edge of  the  power  that  lay  within  its  secret  mechanism  brought 
into  its  membership  a  horde  of  petty  leaders  more  intent  upon 
personal  success  than  upon  the  unity  of  the  society.  Intrigue, 
rivalry  and  wrangling  developed  in  the  councils,  and  petty 
spite  or  open-voiced  disgust  were  here  and  there  tearing  aside 
the  veil  of  secrecy  that  had  heretofore  concealed  the  Order's 
inner  workings.  The  mechanism,  membership,  teaching  and 
aims  of  the  great  Know-Nothing  society  could,  in  the  campaign 
of  1855,  be  easily  learned  by  any  anxious  inquirer.  The 
nominal  principles  of  the  movement  were  losing  their  influ- 
ence, too.  The  old  cry  of  Catholic  conspiracy  against  the 
nation  was  beginning  to  lose  its  effect,  for  it  was  seen  that  the 
enemy  —  if  he  really  were  an  enemy  —  was  in  a  great  minority 
in  the  nation.  Besides,  the  Catholic  bishops  had  officially 
declared  in  May,  1855,  that  Catholics  owed  no  obedience  to 
the  Pope  in  civil  affairs.  Finally,  the  mystery  of  the  thing  was 
beginning  to  vanish.  In  1854  the  Order  was  really  clothed  in 
secrecy,  and  could  work  out  startling  political  changes  at  the 
polls,  but  by  the  fall  of  1855  outsiders  could  in  most  towns 
guess  closely  at  the  strength  and  plans  of  the  secret  councils. 
The  Know-Nothing  state  ticket  of  1855  was  placed  in  the 
field  in  a  manner  less  open  to  objection  than  that  of  1854. 
The  resentment  aroused  by  the  nomination  of  the  Ullman 
ticket  bore  home  its  lesson  to  the  managers  of  the  Order,  and 


361]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1855  163 

by  the  fall  of  1855  triey  had  prepared  the  nominating  machinery 
of  a  state  convention.  The  first  convention  met  at  Auburn  on 
September  25th.  It  was  composed  of  delegates  elected  for  the 
single  duty  of  making  nominations,  and  it  was  governed  by 
officers  chosen  by  itself.  This  convention  is  another  instance 
of  the  way  in  which  the  secret  order  continually  adopted  party 
methods  in  its  political  work,  abandoning  the  peculiar  methods 
by  which  it  had  hitherto  secured  its  best  results.  According 
to  the  press  reports  there  were  about  320  delegates  in  attend- 
ance on  the  Auburn  convention.1  They  were  called  to  order 
by  Grand  President  Barker  as  temporary  chairman,  and  there- 
upon began  the  work  of  self-organization.  Erastus  Brooks 
was  chosen  as  permanent  president,  supported  by  eight  vice- 
presidents,  representing  the  judicial  districts  of  the  state.  The 
work  of  nomination  immediately  followed.  This  convention 
was  not  a  Grand  Council  session.  It  was  a  temporary  political 
body  with  a  special  work  to  do.  Press  reports  give  little 
detailed  convention  news.  There  were  many  aspirants  for 
place,  but  one  by  one  the  list  was  sifted,  and  the  convention 
broke  up  in  the  early  morning  hours  of  the  26th.  This  Au- 
burn convention,  with  its  commonplace  political  procedure, 
comes  just  at  the  turning  point  of  the  fortunes  of  political 
nativism.  It  is  of  special  interest  because  it  marks  a  certain 
change  in  the  conception  of  the  nativist  movement  in  the  state. 
Up  to  this  time  the  Know-Nothing  Order  had  been  the  one 
acknowledged  force  of  political  nativism.  The  Auburn  con- 
vention did  not,  however,  regard  itself  as  merely  a  Know- 
Nothing  gathering.  It  affected  to  represent  political  nativism 
as  a  whole.  The  phrase  of  "American  Party"  had  been  occa- 
sionally used  in  nativist  politics  before  the  date  of  the  Auburn 
convention.  After  that  date  it  is  almost  exclusively  the  official 
name  of  the  nativist  movement.  The  ticket  selected  by  the 
convention  was  as  follows : 

1  Convention  account  from  Times  and  Tribune. 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

Secretary  of  State Joel  T.  Headley,  of  Orange. 

Comptroller Lorenzo  Burrows,  of  Orleans. 

Treasurer Stephen  Clark,  of  Albany. 

Attorney-General Stephen  B.  Cushing,  of  Tompkins. 

Engineer Silas  Seymour,  of  Rockland. 

Canal  Commissioner Samuel  S.  Whallon,  of  Chautauqua. 

Prison  Inspector William  A.  Russell,  of  Washington. 

Judge,  Court  of  Appeals   .    .    .  William  W.  Campbell,  of  New  York. 
Judge,  Court  of  Appeals    .    .    .  George  F.  Comstock,  of  Onondaga. 

This  ticket  was  so  chosen  as  to  represent  all  portions  of  the 
state  and  to  be  bi-partisan.  Five  of  its  members  had  been 
Whigs  and  -four  had  been  Democrats.  Against  the  personal 
character  of  its  members  the  opposition  press  had  nothing  to 
say.  Joel  T.  Headley,  of  Newburgh,  the  head  of  the  ticket, 
was  one  of  those  nativist  legislators  who  fought  valiantly 
against  the  election  of  Seward  as  senator.  In  earlier  life  he 
had  been  a  clergyman,  but  left  that  occupation  to  travel  and  to 
earn  his  living  with  his  pen.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  election  as 
assemblyman  he  was  best  known  as  a  writer.  His  legislative 
career  then  secured  him  notice  in  politics.  Lorenzo  Burrows, 
whose  office  was  perhaps  the  most  important  on  the  state 
ticket,  was  a  business  man  of  Albion,  credited  with  wealth  and 
ability.  He  had  served  one  term  in  Congress.  Cushing, 
Whallon,  Campbell  and  Comstock  were  lawyers  of  local  repu- 
tation. Seymour  and  Clark  were  civil  engineers  of  consider- 
able experience. 

On  the  day  following  the  nativist  state  convention  the  dele- 
gates of  the  Seward  coalition  met  at  Syracuse.  Three  separ- 
ate conventions  were  held  at  once,  namely,  those  of  Whigs, 
Republicans  and  Know-Somethings.  The  proceedings  of 
these  bodies  went  on  smoothty.  The  Whig  and  Republican 
joint-committee  reported  a  mixed  ticket  made  up  of  Whigs 
and  Democrats,  and  all  three  conventions  promptly  ratified 
the  selections.  Excellent  as  this  arrangement  was  for  the 
Seward  clique  there  was  nevertheless  a  patent  incongruity  in 
asking  Whigs  to  vote  as  Whigs  for  men  chosen  from  the  party 


363]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1835  1 6$ 

which  the  Whig  organization  had  fought  so  bitterly  during 
the  past  twenty  years.  There  was  something  of  a  stir  of  dis- 
satisfaction when  the  mixed  ticket  was  declared.  The  Repub- 
lican movement,  it  must  be  again  said,  was  not  yet  a  real  party. 
The  men  who  composed  it  were  still  Whigs  and  Democrats,  and 
the  fact  that  some  Democratic  politician  might  feel  willing  to 
side  with  anti- slavery  did  not  make  him  palatable  to  straight- 
out  Whigs  even  when  served  to  them  upon  the  official  ticket 
of  the  Whig  Party.  Nativism  took  advantage  of  this  anomaly 
in  party  work  to  stir  up  dissatisfaction  with  the  Seward  ticket. 
In  New  York,  Kings  and  Richmond  counties  the  nativist  ele- 
ment was  strong  enough  to  use  the  Whig  Party  machinery  at 
this  juncture.  The  Whig  county  committees  repudiated  the 
Republican  ticket,  and  on  October  4th  an  immense  mass- 
meeting  in  New  York  city  called  for  a  new  state  convention  of 
Old-line  Whigs.  The  Seward-Whig  newspapers  viewed  this 
threatened  revolt  with  wrath  and  fear,  but  their  fear  was  need- 
less, for  it  was  an  impossible  task  to  re-create  the  machinery 
of  the  old  party  in  time  for  election.  On  October  236,  when 
the  state  convention  of  Old-line  Whigs  met,  it  merely  made  its 
protest  against  the  Syracuse  mixed  ticket  and  did  not  attempt 
to  make  a  rival  ticket  or  re-organize  the  state.  The  old  Whig 
Party  in  New  York  was  in  fact  a  political  corpse.  Such 
Whigs  as  would  not  join  with  Seward  now  drifted  into  nativ- 
ism,  though  for  a  year  or  two  longer  the  pretence  of  an  Old- 
line  Whig  state  committee  was  kept  up. 

The  nativist  campaign  work  in  1855  followed  very  largely 
the  former  policy  of  secrecy  in  the  interior  counties.  Voters 
were  gathered  into  the  Know-Nothing  councils  and  instructed 
as  to  the  necessity  of  upholding  the  political  plans  of  nativism. 
In  New  York  city  the  more  open  methods  of  mass  meetings, 
campaign  clubs  and  processions  were  used.  In  the  arguments 
of  the  time,  nativism  still  used  the  old  bugbear  of  Catholic  con- 
spiracy, and  with  excellent  effect.  The  twin  bugbear  of  for- 
eign influence,  independent  of  church  matters,  was  tacitly 


POLITICAL  NATIV2SM  [364 

dropped.  Nativism  had  come  to  recognize  the  value  of  foreign- 
born  voters  by  this  time,  and  there  was  little  said  of  the  old  idea 
of  twenty  one  years'  residence  for  naturalization.  Nativism 
was  growing  liberal.  Its  platform  of  August  made  no  explicit 
reference  to  the  foreign  born,  but  contented  itself  with  a  vague 
hint  of  some  sort  of  reform  in  naturalization  laws.  The  main 
arguments  of  the  campaign  were  those  upon  the  slavery  issue. 
Nativism  could  not  now  go  so  far  as  to  declare  that  the  South 
was  right,  but  it  could  and  did  maintain  that  Seward  was 
wrong.  Senator  Seward,  according  to  the  nativist  view,  was  a 
mischief-maker,  heedless  of  results  so  long  as  his  own  ambi- 
tions were  served,  plotting  for  the  presidency,  and  not  caring 
if  his  course  might  imperil  the  unity  of  the  nation.  In  the 
nativist  demonology,  Seward  the  Friend  of  the  Pope  was 
superseded  by  Seward  the  Enemy  of  his  Country.  The  slavery 
issue  really  was  the  dominant  note  of  the  state  campaign.  On 
the  Republican  side  of  the  contest  the  leaders  used  the  long- 
tried  methods  of  political  work,  drawing  together  the  machinery 
of  a  new  state  organization,  but  keeping  fast  hold  on  the  old 
Whig  system  as  well.  In  argument  they  scored  the  nativist 
idea.  Hostility  to  voters  of  foreign  birth,  they  said,  was  an 
insult,  and  hostility  to  the  Catholic  system  was  an  absurdity. 
As  to  the  slavery  issue,  they  said  that  the  nativists  were  friends 
of  the  South  and  of  domestic  servitude.  The  nativist  leaders 
were  bamboozling  their  followers  and  blinding  them  with 
fanciful  mummeries  to  suit  their  own  ambitions  and  to  deliver 
the  national  government  into  the  hands  of  the  slave  holding 
aristocracy.  Sometimes  there  were  reproaches  against  the 
iniquities  of  "  dark-lantern  politics  ;"  but  this  came  with  bad 
grace  from  the  Seward  side  where  the  secret  Know-Something 
Order,  after  swallowing  up  the  Choctaws,1  kept  the  field  as  a 
Seward  auxiliary  of  the  same  dark-lantern  type. 

Election  day  in  1855  came  on  November  6th.     The  first  re- 

1  Herald,  1855,  September  22,  p.  2;   Times,  1855,  October  12,  p.  5. 


365]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1855  1 67 

turns  showed  that  organized  nativism  had  won  a  victory.  The 
Republican  movement  polled  a  remarkably  good  vote,  but  it 
fell  short  of  success.  Nativism  carried  the  state.  The  victors 
elected  seven  administrative  officers,  one  judge  of  appeals,  and 
five  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  land  office  and  the 
canal  board,  with  the  patronage  therewith  connected,  would  be 
theirs  in  the  coming  year.  In  the  legislature  the  nativist  suc- 
cess was  not  so  apparent.  Neither  branch  of  that  body  would 
be  dominated  by  the  movement.  There  were  only  eleven  na- 
tivist senators  and  about  forty-four  nativist  assemblymen.  The 
state  canvass  showed  that  the  political  groups  of  the  campaign 
had  polled  an  averaged  strength  about  as  follows :  * 

Headley- Burrows  ticket: 

Nativist  movement  (Americans) "> 

Whig  Party  (Old-line  Whigs) J 

King- Cook  ticket : 

Anti-slavery  movement  ( Republicans) 

Anti-slavery  movement  (Know- Somethings)    .    . 

Whig  Party  (Seward  Whigs) f  13M°°  votes' 

Temperance  movement  (Temperance  men)      .    .    J 
Hatch- Stetson  ticket : 

Democratic  Party  (Soft-Shells) 90,900  votes. 

Ward-Mitchell  ticket : 

Democratic  Party  (Hard-Shells) 45,600  votes. 

Ward- Stetson  ticket: 

Democratic  Party  (Half-Shells) % 

Anti-temperance  movement  (Constitutionalists)     .    I    12,700  votes. 

Anti-temperance  movement  (Liquor  Dealers)    .    .   J 

The  returns  for  this  election  showed  that  the  nativist  move- 
ment had  gained  considerably  since  the  fall  of  1854.  A  heavy 
vote  was  cast  for  its  ticket  in  some  of  the  staunch  Democratic 
counties.  Curiously,  however,  the  counties  of  the  west,  where 
Fillmore's  influence  extended,  did  not  vote  as  heavily  for 
nativism  in  1855  as  in  the  preceding  year.  The  secret  order 
had  invaded  the  northern  counties  since  1854,  anc*  its  gains 

1  Official  canvass  in  Times,  1856,  January  2,  p.  I.  The  Liberty  Party,  whose 
state  poll  was  about  140  votes,  is  omitted. 


POLITICAL  NAT1VISM 


[366 


there  and  elsewhere  more  than  balanced  all  losses.  In  five 
counties  the  nativist  ticket  had  an  actual  majority  of  the  total 
vote.  The  vote  for  Headley  was  distributed  as  follows  : 


J 

Per  cem 

t.     Vote. 

F 

'er  cent 

.       Vote. 

Albany  

41  • 

•  6,136 

Onondaga  

31  • 

•  3.479 

Alleghany  

23. 

•   1,429 

Ontario  

43  • 

•  2,744 

Broome  

18 

.       929 

Orange  

24  • 

.  i,  806 

Cattaraugus  

34  . 

.   2,012 

Orleans  

44  . 

.  1,831 

Cayuga  

37  • 

•   3^76 

Oswego  

29. 

-  2,413 

Chautauqua   

44  • 

•   3,564 

Otsego    

25  • 

-  i,958 

Chemung  

29  . 

.    1,092 

Putnam  

37  - 

.     671 

Chenango  

33  • 

.   2,276 

Queens  

32. 

.  i,46i 

Clinton  

37  • 

•   1,576 

Rensselaer     

49  • 

•  5»35° 

Columbia   

|*.'. 

•   2,173 

Richmond      

35- 

.     782 

Cortland     

35  • 

•    I.S4I 

Rockland  

48. 

.     982 

Delaware  

35  • 

,   2,102 

St.  Lawrence    .        .    . 

25- 

.  2,167 

Dutchess    

23- 

.  2,098 

Saratoga     

35  • 

.  2,671 

Erie   

35  - 

•  5>433 

Schenectady  

52. 

•  i,534 

Essex     

S2. 

.  1,928 

Schoharie  

29  • 

.  i,  606 

Franklin    

54- 

.  1,831 

Schuyler    

27  • 

.     780 

Fulton-Hamilton  .    .    . 

29  • 

.  1,089 

Seneca  

S6. 

•  1,285 

Genesee     

36. 

.  1,570 

Steuben      

40  . 

.  3,400 

Greene  

45  • 

.  2,167 

Suffolk   

29  - 

.  1,128 

Herkimer  

32. 

.  2,024 

Sullivan     

49- 

.  2,223 

Jefferson    

12  . 

.  1,090 

Tioga     

10  . 

.     440 

Kings     

34- 

•  7,TI3 

Tompkins  

45  • 

.  2,163 

Lewis     

9  . 

.     318 

Ulster     

56. 

.  5,096 

Livingston     

47  • 

.  2,704 

Warren  

48. 

-  i,5i3 

Madison     

24  . 

•  W5 

Washington  

53- 

•  3,715 

Monroe  

3i  • 

3,522 

Wayne   

32. 

.  2,388 

Montgomery  

39- 

.  2,058 

Westchester  

39- 

•  3,264 

New  York     

36. 

.  20,367 

Wyoming  

18. 

.     868 

Niagara      

38. 

.  2,247 

Yates  

7  • 

•     254 

Oneida  

ii  . 

•  1.555 

The  success  in  the  state  election  was  encouraging  to  the 
Know- Nothing  Order,  and  yet  the  total  vote  cast  was  30,000 
less  than  the  membership  which  had  been  claimed  for  the 
Order  in  the  spring  months.  The  election  gave  evidence  that 
organized  nativism  was  really  menaced  by  the  rise  of  the  Re- 
publican movement.  Its  power  was  beginning  to  shrink  as 


367]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  i855  l6g 

that  of  organized  anti-slavery  grew.  The  latter  was  taking  on 
strength  with  a  rapidity  almost  equaling  that  which  nativism 
itself  had  shown  at  its  first  expansion.  In  the  coming  winter 
it  would  be  represented  in  the  legislative  bodies  of  the  nation, 
and  would  demand  recognition  as  a  factor  in  national  politics. 
All  eyes  now  turned  expectantly  to  the  meeting  of  Con- 
gress. In  New  York  state  an  almost  equal  interest  was 
directed  toward  the  meeting  of  the  new  state  legislature. 
The  attitude  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order  of  New  York  state 
toward  the  anti- Southern  movement  was  now  changing  very 
rapidly.  The  Barker  clique  with  its  friendship  for  the  South 
was  losing  influence.  A  new  element  was  forcing  itself  to  the 
front  in  the  Order  with  friendly  feelings  for  anti-slavery.  The 
two  elements  were  in  balance,  and  while  they  remained  so, 
New  York  stayed  faithful  to  the  old  secret  system  and  kept 
itself  coherent  and  united.  The  Order  in  New  York  lent  no 
countenance  to  the  schismatic  national  convention  which  met 
at  Cincinnati  in  November,  1855,  composed  of  anti-Southern 
men,  but  held  itself  to  old  ways.  The  first  evidence  of  the 
change  worked  in  New  York  by  the  anti-Southern  movement 
revealed  itself  when  Congress  met  on  December  3d  and  began 
to  ballot  for  a  speaker.  It  was  then  seen  that  although  at 
least  half  of  the  New  York  congressmen  had  been  elected  in 
1854  by  Know-Nothing  votes,  yet  only  a  half  dozen  were  now 
inclined  to  act  with  the  Order  in  the  speakership  contest. 
The  whole  Know-Nothing  element  in  Congress  soon  showed 
an  utter  lack  of  coherence  and  power.  At  the  first  ballot  on 
the  speakership  it  mustered  about  fifty  votes,  but  they  were 
divided  between  the  Southern  Marshall  and  the  Northern 
Fuller.  The  Americans,  as  they  now  called  themselves, 
could  not  unite.  On  the  28th  ballot  Marshall  withdrew. 
Efforts  were  made  then  to  get  the  Know-Nothings  together 
in  support  of  Fuller.  Slowly  his  following  increased  through 
the  weeks  of  repeated  balloting  that  extended  themselves  into 
the  winter  months,  but  the  incessant  fight  upon  the  slavery 


POLITICAL  N ATI V ISM  [368 

issue  continually  weakened  the  nativist  phalanx.  The  situa- 
tion at  Washington,  consequently,  was  not  at  all  encouraging 
to  the  New  York  portion  of  the  Order  when  the  new  year  of 
1856  came  in.  The  Know- Nothing  members  from  New  York 
were  reflecting  no  luster  whatever  upon  the  organization 
which  placed  them  in  their  seats,  and  the  whole  Know-Nothing 
group  in  the  House  was  showing  itself  utterly  incapable  of 
harmony. 

On  January  I,  1856,  the  New  York  legislature  came  to- 
gether. Here,  as  at  Washington,  there  was  an  aggressive 
group  of  Republicans  prepared  to  struggle  for  political  status. 
Their  movement  was  yet  new  and  had  not  shaken  itself 
entirely  loose  from  the  older  parties,  but  they  meant  to  assert 
themselves  in  the  organization  of  the  legislature.  There 
were  at  Albany,  as  at  Washington,  several  political  groups 
which  overlapped  one  another  in  personnel  and  whose  re- 
spective strengths  could  not  on  that  account  be  accurately 
reckoned.  In  a  rough  way  only  could  it  be  said  that  the  new 
Assembly  of  120  members  was  fairly  evenly  divided  among 
Democrats,  Americans  and  Republicans.  On  the  last  day  of 
the  old  year  the  members  held  their  caucuses.  The  Ameri- 
cans selected  Lyman  Odell,  of  Livingston,  as  their  candidate 
for  speaker  of  the  lower  house.  Then  on  the  New  Year  the 
balloting  began.  In  the  contest  at  Albany,  unlike  that  at 
Washington,  the  bitterness  wrought  by  the  slavery  issue  had 
no  place.  The  problem  at  Albany  for  each  of  the  three  chief 
groups  was  to  get  the  speakership  if  possible,  but  first  and 
above  all  things,  to  show  no  weakness  in  its  coherence. 
For  nativism  in  New  York,  a  fiasco  like  that  at  Washington 
would  be  a  most  evil  omen.  For  two  weeks,  with  dogged 
persistence,  the  rival  groups  faced  one  another  at  Albany. 
Then,  on  the  49th  ballot,  the  Democrats  and  Republicans, 
without  merging  their  identity  in  the  least,  united  to  outvote 
the  Americans  and  divide  the  offices  between  themselves. 
This  defeat,  brought  about  by  coalition,  lost  no  prestige  to 


369]  THE  STATE   CAMPAIGN  OF  1835  if  \ 

the  Know- Nothings,  who  had  proven  their  ability  to  hold  to- 
gether. Meantime,  at  Washington,  efforts  were  being  made 
to  create  a  coalition  of  Democrats  and  Americans  to  outvote 
the  Republican  group,  but  the  Americans  would  not  unite 
upon  this  final  hope.  Then  came  the  break.  Southern 
Know-Nothings  passed  over  to  the  Democracy  and  only  a 
corporal's  guard  remained  to  vote  for  Fuller  till  the  end. 

The  utter  weakness  of  the  Know-Nothing  contingent  at  the 
national  capital  was  but  a  reflection  of  the  actual  condition  of 
the  national  organization.  Nearly  every  state  had  altered  the 
old  Know-Nothing  secret  system  to  suit  its  own  taste  since 
the  fatal  session  of  the  Philadelphia  National  Council  in  June* 
1855.  There  was  no  longer  a  national  secret  society.  Instead 
there  was  a  congeries  of  state  organizations,  some  in  the  form 
of  societies  and  others  in  the  form  of  political  parties.  Men 
talked  less  of  "  the  Order "  now,  and  more  of  "  the  party." 
The  old  Know-Nothing  Order  was  in  fact,  in  a  transition 
stage.  It  was  changing  itself  into  a  real  political  party.  Many 
were  dropping  away  from  it  during  the  change,  yet  it  still  had 
probably  over  a  million  voters  and  could  make  a  fight  for  the 
presidency.  Its  leaders  were  planning  for  the  latter  event, 
and  the  National  Council  which  had  been  called  to  meet  on 
February  1 8th,  would  try  to  rehabilitate  the  organization  and 
set  it  in  the  field  in  fighting  form.  What  part  the  slavery  issue 
would  play  in  this  work  of  restoration  no  one  could  prophesy. 
Anti-slavery  sentiment  in  the  organization  was  much  stronger 
than  it  was  eight  months  before,  when  the  former  National 
Council  was  held,  and  in  the  new  Council  it  would  probably 
be  more  strongly  assertive  than  before.  The  anti-Southern 
men  would  have  an  advantage,  too,  in  the  fact  that  each  con- 
gressional district  would  have  a  delegate  and  there  could  be 
no  careful  balancing  of  state  delegations  as  in  the  former 
Council.  The  Know-Nothings  of  New  York  looked  forward  to 
this  Council  with  peculiar  interest  because  of  the  two  aspirants 
for  the  presidency.  All  through  the  year  1855  the  friends  of 


POLITICAL  NATIV1SM 

Fillmore  and  of  Law  respectively  were  pushing  their  canvass  for 
delegates.  Fillmore  himself  was  in  Europe,  but  the  men  who 
had  come  over  to  the  Know-Nothing  Order  from  the  old  Silver- 
Gray  Whig  faction  rallied  to  his  name.  Law,  on  the  contrary, 
found  his  support  among  the  men  who  were  more  closely  inter- 
ested in  real  nativism.  Barker  was  a  supporter  of  Law.  At 
the  American  Party  National  Convention  which  was  to  follow 
immediately  after  the  National  Council  session  the  fate  of  the 
New  York  aspirants  would  be  decided.  The  Know-Nothings 
of  New  York  were  therefore  anxious  for  a  successful  unifica- 
tion of  the  disorganized  American  Party  as  a  necessary  pre- 
lude to  a  successful  presidential  campaign. 

On  February  18,  1856,  the  National  Council  came  together 
at  Philadelphia.1  At  once  the  old  fight  over  the  slavery  issue 
began,  for  the  pro-slavery  southerners  refused  to  submit  to  the 
excision  of  the  famous  "  twelfth  section "  of  the  platform 
adopted  in  June,  1855.  On  the  third  day  of  the  debate  the 
vote  was  called  on  the  motion  to  strike  out,  and  the  result 
wiped  the  hated  twelfth  section  from  the  platform.  In  this 
test  of  policy  the  New  York  delegation  divided  its  vote  im- 
partially on  either  side.  But  now  an  entirely  new  platform 
was  demanded  to  replace  the  mutilated  old  one.  The  South- 
ern men  wanted  assurances  of  neutrality  from  the  new  party, 
while  the  anti-slavery  men  wanted  assurances  of  hostility  to 
slavery.  While  debate  went  on  a  platform  was  offered  which 
took  compromise  ground.  It  was  acceptable  to  the  South  but 
not  to  the  anti-slavery  group,  which  was  now  in  a  mood  to 
push  its  advantage.  The  Council  was  at  a  crisis.  If  the  plat- 
form were  rejected  the  Southern  men  would  bolt.  The  vote 
on  the  new  platform  was  such  that  New  York  could  turn  the 
scale,  and  now  again  in  1856,  as  it  had  done  in  1855,  the  dele- 
gation went  with  the  South  to  keep  the  national  organization 
unbroken.  The  National  Council  therefore  closed  its  labors 

1  Account  is  from  Herald and  Times  reports. 


3  7 1  ]  THE  S I  'A  TE  CA  MPA IGN  OF  1855  \  j  $ 

on  the  2 1st,  having  come  back   to  a  stand  of  neutrality  that 
meant  non-interference  with  slavery. 

On    February    22nd,   the    National    Convention   organized. 
This  body  was  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  the  National 
Council  had  no  power  to  nominate  a  presidential  ticket  under 
the  constitution  of  the  secret  order.     In  reality  the  Convention 
only  continued  the  work  begun  by  the  National  Council.     Its 
membership  corresponded  to  that  of  the  presidential  electors 
of  the  states.     At  its  first  day's  session  the  Convention  organ- 
ized.    Among  its  officers  was  Erastus  Brooks,  of  New  York, 
as  vice-president.     Then,  as  soon  as   organization  was  com- 
pleted and  debate  opened,  the  never-ending  slavery  question 
filled  the  air  again.     By  this  time,  apparently,  the  more  violent 
anti-slavery  men  had  determined  upon  a  line  of  conduct.     On 
the  second  day  they  moved  the  adoption  of  a  new  platform  on 
the  ground  that  a  party  convention  could  not  be  bound  by  the 
action  of  the  National  Council.     The  suggestion  failed.     On 
the   third   day   the  anti-slavery   men    moved    an    anti- slavery 
amendment  to  the  platform,  and   on  a  test  vote   they  were 
defeated    151    to   51.     Then   they  left  the  convention,  a  small 
body  of  about   two  dozen.     They  had  sympathizers  who  de- 
ferred a  bolt  until  the  party  ticket  should  be  selected.     On  the 
evening  of  February  25th,  the  ballot  was  taken  on  nominees. 
Millard  Fillmore  was  the  favorite  of  the  South  and  was  easily 
nominated.     George  Law  stood'  next,  but  far  behind  Fillmore. 
The  New  York  delegation  on  the  first  formal  ballot  stood  twenty 
for  Law,  ten  for  Fillmore,  four  for  Houston,  and  one  absent. 
The  Convention  voted  the  vice-presidency  to  Andrew  J.  Donel- 
son,  of  Tennessee,  and  then  adjourned.     Through  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  eight-days'  struggle  the  course  of  the   New  York 
delegation  had  been  skillfully  taken,  and  the  state  organiza- 
tion could  now  face  a  presidential  campaign  for  the  election  of 
a  New  York  man.     Only  one  or  two  of  the  New  York  dele- 
gates had  joined  that  group  of  anti:slavery  bolters  who  sought 
to  disrupt  the   re-united   party.  /  After   this   convention   it   is 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

proper  to  give  the  nativist  organization  the  name  of "  party  " 
in  a  technical  sense,  for  its  nominations  made  the  break  dis- 
tinct between  the  national  organizations  of  the  nativists  and 
those  of  the  Whigs  and  Democrats.  After  this  convention  a 
voter  could  hardly  be  an  adherent  of  the  entire  nativist  ticket, 
and  yet  profess  any  allegiance  to  the  national  Democratic  or 
Whig  Party.  Up  to  this  time  a  voter  might  have  been  both 
nativist  and  Democrat,  or  nativist  and  Whig. 

Within  the  platform  adopted  by  the  National  Council  was  a 
piece  of  legislation  which  needs  notice  as  bearing  on  the 
changing  constitution  of  the  Know-Nothing  system.  It  has 
been  noted  how,  after  the  Philadelphia  Council  of  June,  1855, 
the  various  grand  councils  of  different  states  played  havoc 
with  the  secret  system  of  the  Order.  To  undo  this  work  was 
impossible,  and  it  was  condoned  and  legalized  instead.  Article 
XV.  of  the  new  platform  declared :  ' 

That  each  State  Council  shall  have  authority  to  annul  their  several  constitutions 
so  as  to  abolish  the  several  degrees,  and  substitute  a  pledge  of  honor  instead  of 
other  obligations,  for  fellowship  and  admission  into  the  party. 

This  legislation  did  not  abolish  the  secret  system  either  in 
the  National  Council  or  in  any  state  where  it  had  been  retained. 
It  merely  permitted  grand  councils  to  act  at  their  own  dis- 
cretion. The  article  was  in  no  way  mandatory.  The  Know- 
Nothing  Order  in  New  York  state  was  unaffected  and  went  on 
as  before,  a  secret  society  working  under  the  supervision  of 
its  Grand  Council.  As  a  fitting  incident  of  this  period  of 
change  into  which  the  Know-Nothing  Order  was  now  passing 
came  the  retirement  of  James  W.  Barker  from  official  leader- 
ship of  the  organization  in  New  York.  He  and  his  friends 
were  no  longer  an  influence  controlling  the  secret  order. 
When  the  Grand  Council  met  in  annual  session  in  February, 
1856,  his  official  term  as  grand  president  closed.  In  the  pre- 
vious December  he  had  declared  himself  not  a  candidate  for 

1  Herald,  1856,  February  22,  p.  i. 


373]  THE  STATE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1855  175 

re-election.1     The  Grand  Council    quietly   replaced   the   old 
officers  with  new  men. 

The  personality  of  James  W.  Barker  dominated  the  Know- 
Nothing  movement  in  New  York  state  during  its  rise  to  power. 
The  extraordinary  expansion  of  the  secret  organization  was 
made  possible  by  his  administrative  genius,  and  during  that 
expansion  he  was  the  great  representative  of  the  system  which 
he  controlled.  Barker  was  an  excellent  type  of  the  American 
citizen,  with  his  interest  in  public  movements,  his  abiding  faith 
in  American  nationality  and  his  energy  of  character.  He  was 
broad-minded  and  conservative  at  the  same  time,  never  a  fan- 
atic or  an  incendiary.  As  a  nativist  his  sincerity  was  admitted 
by  even  his  opponents.  The  life  of  Barker  was  like  that  of  many 
other  business  men  of  the  great  city.2  Born  at  White  Plains, 
Westchester  county,  December  5,  1815,  he  grew  up  there  in 
the  country  life  until  he  became  old  enough  to  look  for  better 
fortune  elsewhere.  He  came  to  New  York  city  and  secured  a 
place  as  salesman  in  a  dry-goods  house,  from  whence  he  soon 
passed  into  a  modest  business  of  his  own.  He  was  engaged 
in  the  dry-goods  trade  until  he  retired  in  1851  and  opened  an 
office  for  real-estate  work.  It  was  during  his  extended  service 
in  mercantile  life  that  he  formed  a  wide  acquaintance  and  ob- 
tained an  enviable  reputation  as  a  business  man.  It  was  in 
this  time,  too,  that  he  became  interested  in  church  matters  and 
in  temperance  work.  It  was  probably  in  the  secret  orders  of 
temperance  that  he  first  reached  that  acquaintance  with  the 
machinery  of  the  lodge-room  that  served  him  in  such  good 
stead  later.  The  rise  of  political  nativism  found  him  an  earn- 
est worker.  He  belonged  to  all  the  prominent  societies  of  the 
nativist  movement.  His  energy,  sincerity  and  strength  of  pur- 
pose brought  him  very  quickly  to  the  front  as  a  political 

1  Times,  1855,  December  14,  p.  4. 

J  For  biographical  notes  see  Herald,  1869,  June  27,  p.  7.    Also,  Smith's  Pillars 
of  the  Temple. 


POLITICAL  N ATI  VIS  M  [374 

eader  of  nativism,  and  this  position  he  never  entirely  lost^ 
even  after  he  lost  personal  control  of  the  nativist  organization. 
During  the  decadence  of  the  American  Party,  Barker  occasion- 
ally appeared  in  connection  with  the  party  work  and  he  re- 
mained an  upholder  of  the  party  till  its  end.  In  1859  he  left 
New  York  city  and  went  to  Pittsburgh  to  re-embark  in  the  dry- 
goods  business.  Here  he  built  up  a  successful  interest  which 
he  kept  until  his  death.  In  1867  illness  forced  him  to  retire 
from  active  business  effort  for  a  time,  but  in  1868  he  accepted 
the  presidency  of  an  insurance  company  in  New  York  and 
kept  in  touch  with  business  life.  He  died  suddenly  at  Rah- 
way,  New  Jersey,  on  June  26,  1869.  He  was,  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  the  head  of  a  small  organization  which  sought  to  re- 
vive the  old  Know -Nothing  system  under  a  new  name. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK 

THE  annual  session  of  the  Know-Nothing  Grand  Council,  at 
-which  the  Barker  control  was  finally  thrown  off,  convened  on 
February  26,  1856,  at  Canandaigua.1  In  the  absence  of  the 
grand  president,  then  engaged  in  president-making  at  Phila- 
delphia, a  temporary  chairman  called  the  session  to  order. 
The  principal  work  of  the  first  day  was  the  reception  of  cre- 
dentials. When  organization  was  completed  the  Council 
voted  a  ratification  of  the  new  Fillmore  and  Donelson  ticket. 
On  the  27th  the  Council  adopted  the  new  national  platform 
and  then  passed  to  debate  on  a  proposal  to  abandon  the  secret 
system  in  New  York.  The  suggestion  was  put  aside.  Next 
came  the  annual  election  of  officers.  The  grand  president's 
place  was  first  voted  to  Lyman  Odell,  of  Livingston,  the  unsuc- 
cessful nominee  for  speaker  of  the  Assembly,  but  Odell  de- 
clined it,  whereupon  it  was  voted  to  Stephen  Sammons  of 
Montgomery,  one  of  the  long-tried  workers  of  the  secret 
movement.  The  place  of  grand  vice-president  seems  to  have 
gone  to  George  Denniston,  of  Steuben.  For  grand  secretary, 
J.  Stanley  Smith,  of  Cayuga,  was  chosen.  This  election 
probably  closed  the  work  of  the  session. 

The  Know-Nothings  now  faced  a  new  campaign  and  one 
which  would  thoroughly  test  the  strength  of  the  organization. 
The  presidency  of  the  nation  and  the  governorship  of  the  state 
were  the  prizes  for  which  the  New  York  branch  of  the  party 
would  work.  National  and  state  considerations  were  there- 
fore mingled  in  the  plans  of  the  year.  In  the  national  contest 

1  Account  from  Herald  reports. 
375]  177 


178  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

the  Whig  Party  was  practically  defunct  and  its  place  would  be 
taken  in  years  to  come  by  either  the  American  or  the  Repub- 
lican Party.  The  campaign  of  1856  would  do  much  to  decide 
which  of  the  two  was  to  be  the  party  of  the  future.  In  the 
state  campaign  the  same  problem  of  the  permanence  of  party 
was  to  be  worked  out  in  a  somewhat  narrower  field.  Look- 
ing forward  to  the  national  contest  from  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, 1856,  the  advantage  appeared  to  be  on  the  side  of  the 
nativist  party ;  for  while  the  Democracy  was  divided  on  the 
issues  of  the  day  and  the  new  Republican  movement  was  not 
yet  organized  for  effective  national  work,  the  Americans  were 
in  the  field  with  their  issues  plainly  stated,  their  national 
organization  re-formed  and  the  anti-slavery  element  of  the 
party  held  in  check.  Looking  forward  to  the  state  contest 
from  the  same  standpoint,  the  outlook  was  a  little  less  favor- 
able on  account  of  the  energy  and  aggressiveness  of  the 
Seward  coalition  in  New  York.  .^Political  leaders  realized  by 
this  time  that  the  slavery  issue  was  all-pervasive.  It  was 
thrusting  itself  forward  in  every  political  organization  of  the 
day  and  was  the  great  disturbing  factor  in  all  calculations)  It 
was  to  the  popular  interest  in  this  issue  that  the  Republican 
leaders  addressed  themselves  and  their  political  future  would 
depend  upon  the  strength  of  the  popular  response  to  their 
efforts.  The  proper  course  of  the  Know-Nothings,  who  had 
nothing  to  gain  and  much  to  lose  by  anti-slavery  feeling,  was 
to  minimize  the  Republican  influence  and  keep  the  ideas  of 
nativism  in  the  popular  mind  until  the  force  of  anti- Southern 
feeling  could  spend  itself.  The  actual  fact  that  the  Know- 
Nothing  Order  was  losing  ground  in  New  York  state  was  not 
plainly  apparent  in  the  spring  of  1856.  The  exodus  from  its 
secret  councils  was  not  yet  great  enough  to  attract  attention, 
and  although  the  flimsy  veil  of  mystery  was  rent,  yet  the 
secret  machinery  of  the  Order  ground  on  unchecked  and  un- 
complaining. Unlike  other  states,  New  York  had  remained 
faithful  to  its  secret  system  in  politics,  and  in  the  local  spring 


377]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK 

elections  of  1856  it  won  victories  on  all  sides.     This  in  itself 
was  an  evidence  of  real  strength. 

The  latent  weakness  of  the  Know-Nothing  organization  was 
the  existence  of  a  strong  anti-slavery  feeling  among  its  own  mem- 
bership. This  feeling  was  a  constant  source  of  danger,  and  in  the 
campaign  of  the  year  it  was  roused  to  action  as  a  result  of  the 
ambitions  of  George  Law,  the  rich  contractor.  The  presiden- 
tial aspirations  of  Law  were  promoted  by  a  shrewd  newspaper 
man  named  Scoville,  who,  after  the  failure  of  the  Law  canvass 
in  the  regular  national  convention,  placed  himself  in  touch  with 
the  dissatisfied  minority  and  planned  anew  for  a  nomination 
for  his  patron.1  The  New  York  organization  had  practically 
held  aloof  from  the  bolt  made  by  the  anti-slavery  element  in 
the  Philadelphia  Convention  of  February,  1856,  and  its  adhe- 
sion to  the  Fillmore  ticket  was  undisturbed  until  the  support- 
ers of  Law  began  their  work.  Without  the  efforts  of  Scoville 
there  would  certainly  have  been  individual  repudiations  of  the 
Fillmore  ticket,  like  that  of  Col.  Seymour,  the  Know-Nothing 
state  engineer,  but  the  scheme  of  the  Law  clique  was  to  or- 
ganize the  anti-slavery  element  of  the  Order  behind  a  new  pres- 
idential ticket.  The  signs  of  this  movement  appeared  in 
March.2  It  soon  found  ample  support,  because  the  Fillmore 
nomination  was  really  distasteful  to  those  persons  who  sym- 
pathized closely  with  the  anti-Southern  idea.  As  president 
Fillmore  had  signed  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act  and  as  candidate 
in  1856  he  was  believed  to  be  a  Southern  hope.  Law  was 
not  especially  desired  as  a  candidate.  In  fact  he  probably 
never  had  the  remotest  chance  of  a  presidential  nomination. 
He  was  a  convenient  figure-head  and  possibly  a  source  of  sup- 
plies for  the  mischief-makers  of  the  Order.  The  faction  that 
used  Law's  name  were  properly  styled  at  the  time  "Anti- 

1  Herald,  1856,  November  25,  p.  4.  This  story  of  Law's  canvass  bears  plain 
marks  of  editorial  spite,  but  it  seems  reliable. 

1  Herald,  1856,  March  22,  p.  8. 


POLITICAL  NAT1VISM 


[378 


Fillmore  men."  Sometimes  also  they  were  called  North  Amer- 
icans and  their  opponents  South  Americans,  to  indicate  their 
supposed  sectional  sympathies.  On  April  loth  the  Anti- 
Fillmore  men  were  gratified  by  a  call  for  a  new  American 
national  convention,  issued  by  the  bolters  of  the  Philadelphia 
Convention.1  This  was  their  opportunity.  In  various  por- 
tions of  the  state  the  anti-slavery  element  now  gathered  itself 
together  at  a  hint  from  the  leaders  and  chose  delegates  to  a 
state  convention  of  May  29th.  It  does  not  appear  that  this 
distinctly  schismatic  movement  was  opposed  by  the  new  grand 
officers  of  the  secret  order.  The  Anti-Fillmore  men  went  on 
unhindered.  Their  convention  at  Albany  on  May  2pth  organ- 
ized itself  under  the  presidency  of  D.  N.  Wright,  of  West- 
chester."  An  anti-slavery  platform  was  adopted,  a  state  com- 
mittee created  and  a  delegation  of  thirty-  five  members  named  to 
represent  the  state  in  the  schismatic  national  convention  called 
to  meet  at  New  York  city  on  June  I2th.  This  state  conven- 
tion was  the  formal  organization  of  the  Anti-Fillmore  element 
as  a  separate  political  group  in  the  state.  Its  members  were 
not,  however,  seceders  from  the  Know-Nothing  Order.  Their 
convention  did  not  purport  to  be  a  grand  council  or  to  legis- 
late for  the  secret  order.  The  proposal  of  one  of  its  members 
to  organize  a  rival  grand  council  met  such  expression  of  dis- 
sent that  it  was  withdrawn.  The  convention  was  only  a 
medium  through  which  to  formulate  the  views  of  the  anti- 
slavery  Know-Nothings. 

The  New  York  Know-Nothings  were  falling  into  organized 
factions  when  the  regular  annual  session  of  the  National  Coun- 
cil came  in  June.  The  proceedings  of  that  meeting  did  not, 
however,  add  any  features  to  the  political  situation.  It  was  a 
business  session  largely.3  The  Council  met  at  New  York 

^ext  of  call  in  Herald,  1856,  May  I,  p.  4. 
f  Account  from  Herald  and  Times. 
•Account  from  Herald. 


379]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK  jgl 

city  on  June  36,  and  after  organization  passed  into  debate 
upon  the  merits  of  secrecy.  It  finally  decided  to  abolish  the 
secrecy  of  its  own  sessions.  Then  it  formally  ratified  the  Fill- 
more  and  Donelson  ticket,  and  passed  on  to  the  election  of 
new  officers  for  the  following  year.  On  the  third  day  of  the 
session  the  Council  appointed  a  national  executive  committee 
and  an  advisory  committee,  and  adjourned.  In  the  election  of 
national  officers,  E.  B.  Bartlett,  of  Kentucky,  was  re-elected  to 
be  National  President.  Erastus  Brooks,  of  New  York,  was 
made  National  Vice-President.  The  election  of  the  latter  was 
a  compliment  to  his  prominence  in  the  New  York  organiza- 
tion. After  the  overthrow  of  the  Barker  clique,  Brooks  had 
come  to  the  front  as  leader  of  the  conservative  nativist  element 
in  the  Know-Nothing  movement.  His  interest  in  the  New 
York  Express,  which  was  now  the  leading  mouthpiece  of  the 
American  Party,  and  his  reputation  as  champion  of  nativism, 
made  him  looked  to  as  a  proper  representative  of  the  move- 
ment. For  the  next  few  years  Brooks  was  the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  state  party.  The  act  of  the  National  Council  in 
abolishing  its  own  secrecy  needs  notice  also.  In  the  preced- 
ing February  the  Council  had  legalized  the  disuse  of  secrecy 
by  the  grand  councils.  In  the  present  event  it  legalized  its 
own  disuse  of  it.  At  the  same  time  it  did  not  attempt  to  in- 
terfere with  the  state  councils  in  the  matter,  and  no  state  was 
affected  by  the  new  law.  Its  text  was  as  follows:1 

Resolved,  That  we  present  the  American  Party  to  the  country,  not  as  an  Order, 
not  as  a  Society,  but  as  a  broad,  comprehensive,  conservative  national  party,  stand- 
ing, like  other  political  parties,  openly  before  the  country,  inviting  to  its  fellowship 
all  who  adopt  its  sentiments  and  participate  in  its  convictions.  But  nothing  herein 
shall  be  construed  as  to  interfere  with  any  organs  which  the  party  in  any  state,  for 
its  government,  may  have  adopted  or  choose  to  adopt. 

In  the  politics  of  New  York  state  the  chief  event  of  June 
was  not  the  National  Council,  but  rather  the  Anti-Fillmore 
national  convention  of  June  I2th  at  New  York  city.2  It  was 

1  Herald,  1856,  June  5,  p.  I.  'Account  from  Herald. 


1 82  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [380 

for  this  gathering  that  the  anti-slavery  element  had  prepared 
itself,  and  before  which  the  adherents  of  George  Law  would 
urge,  with  more  or  less  sincerity,  his  nomination  to  the  presi- 
dency. The  convention  would  represent  a  rift  in  the  unity  of 
the  great  nativist  party,  and  might  bring  about  a  disruption  of 
the  national  organization.  On  this  latter  account  it  was 
watched  by  the  whole  country.  The  convention  organized  on 
June  1 2th  with  a  full  New  York  delegation,  from  which  the 
convention  chose  Jerome  B.  Bailey  to  be  a  vice-president  and 
Robert  Frazier  to  be  a  secretary  of  the  session.  On  the  sec- 
ond day  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  police  for  protection 
against  the  mob  of  Fillmore  men  who  gathered  about  the 
convention  hall  to  show  their  resentment.  This  was  the  day  on 
which  a  friendly  letter  from  the  Republican  national  committee 
was  read  before  the  delegates,  revealing  a  relation  between  the 
Anti-Fillmore  movement  and  the  Republican.  On  the  third 
day,  when  the  convention  proceeded  to  the  nomination  of  a 
presidential  ticket,  it  became  clear  that  the  convention  man- 
agers were  planning  to  annex  the  Anti-Fillmore  movement  to 
the  Republican  Party,  for  Law  was  set  aside  entirely,  and  the 
contest  lay  between  N.  P.  Banks  and  J.  C.  Fremont,  both  typ- 
ical Republicans.  Most  of  the  New  York  delegates  supported 
Banks.  On  the  fourth  day  the  New  Jersey  men  led  a  bolt  in 
protest  against  the  Republican  aspect  of  the  convention.  A 
small  group  of  delegates  left  the  hall,  but  the  regular  work  of 
the  convention  went  on  until  the  ticket  was  completed.  Banks 
and  Johnston  were  the  nominees.  The  convention  then  ad- 
journed for  a  few  days  with  the  hope  that  its  ticket  would  be 
endorsed  by  the  Republican  national  convention  at  Philadel- 
phia. That  hope  failed,  and  the  convention  re-assembled  on 
the  20th  to  substitute  Fremont  for  Banks  on  the  Anti-Fill- 
more ticket.  The  events  of  June  i6th  closed  Fillmore's  path 
to  the  White  House.  They  destroyed  even  the  nominal  unity 
of  the  American  Party,  and  declared  that  Fillmore  must  not 
receive  the  support  of  anti- slavery  voters.  The  power  of  the 


381]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK  i$$ 

national  nativist  party  broke  at  this  point.  In  the  state  of 
New  York  the  anti  slavery  element  of  the  secret  order  was 
committed  to  the  new  nominees  by  its  share  in  the  Anti-Fill- 
more  convention,  but  some  of  its  members  turned  back  from 
the  Fremont  ticket.  One  or  two  of  the  delegates  of  the  con- 
vention re-pledged  themselves  to  Fillmore.  One  or  two 
others  joined  in  nominating  the  short-lived  Stockton  and 
Raynor  ticket.1  Nevertheless  the  action  of  the  New  York 
convention  had  the  effect  of  facing  many  Know-Nothings  to- 
ward the  Republican  Party  in  New  York  state.  The  cleavage 
line  in  the  secret  order  showed  distinctly  after  this  between 
Fillmore  Know-Nothings  and  Fremont  Know-Nothings. 
George  Law  was  expelled  from  the  Order  by  vote  of  the 
council  to  which  he  belonged.*  It  was  the  penalty  for  his 
ambition. 

The  anti-slavery  issue  moved  steadily  to  the  front  during 
the  summer  of  1856.  As  the  existing  organizations  of  party 
had  broken  down  before  nativism  in  previous  years,  so  now 
they  broke  again  at  the  impact  of  organized  anti-slavery. 
The  phenomenon  of  the  anti-slavery  revolt  in  the  Know- 
Nothing  organization  was  duplicated  by  a  similar  movement 
in  the  Democracy.  In  July  a  state  convention  of  Radical 
Democrats  met  at  Syracuse,  and  while  earnestly  insisting  on 
their  own  Democracy,  endorsed  the  Republican  national 
ticket.8  The  Fremont  ticket  by  the  end  of  July  was  assured 
of  support  from  professed  Know-Nothings  and  from  professed 
Democrats.  Republicanism  was  now  strong  in  New  York 
state.  The  nativists  coula  no  longer  feel  confident  of  success 
in  November,  in  view  of  these  additions  to  the  Republican 
forces.  Political  lines  were  being  re-drawn,  with  slavery  as 
the  test  of  position,  and  the  secret  movement  was  losing  by 
the  changes.  The  campaign  accordingly  became  a  desperate 

1  Nominated  by  bolters  from  the  Anti-Fillmore  convention. 
1  Times,  1856,  July  14,  p.  4. 
3  Herald,  1856,  July  25,  p.  i. 


1 84  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [382 

struggle  in  which  nativism  tried  to  retard  and  Republicanism 
tried  to  encourage  the  current  which  was  setting  toward  the 
newer  movement.  This  accounts  for  the  form  which  the  cam- 
paign arguments  took  in  New  York  state.  Instead  of  discuss- 
ing the  issues  of  the  day  upon  their  merits,  the  political  press 
conducted  a  series  of  assaults  upon  the  respective  party  nom- 
inees. The  Know-Nothing  papers  ceaselessly  rang  the  changes 
upon  the  charge  that  Fremont  was  a  Roman  Catholic  in  his 
religious  relations,  and  if  elected,  would  aid  papal  influence. 
This  story  was  used  to  deter  nativists  from  leaving  the  fold. 
The  Republican  papers,  on  their  side,  urged  that  Fillmore  was 
not  a  real  Know-Nothing,  having  never  attended  a  council 
session  in  his  life,  that  he  had  been  nominated  by  convention 
intrigue  rather  than  by  popular  voice,  and  that  he  was  forced 
upon  the  Order  by  pro-slavery  men.  These  arguments  were 
intended  to  justify  secessions  from  the  Fillmore  organization. 
Notwithstanding  the  divisions  that  had  grown  up  among 
the  Know-Nothings  of  New  York,  the  Order  was  still  a  single 
society  governed  by  a  single  Grand  Council.  But  the  restive- 
ness  of  the  anti-slavery  element  under  the  official  leadership  of 
Fillmore  men  indicated  danger.  The  official  endorsement  of 
Fillmore  by  the  February  Grand  Council  could  hardly  go 
unattacked.  It  became  evident  that  a  clash  of  factional  strife 
would  diversify  the  August  session  of  the  grand  body.  Many 
councils  chose  delegates  to  this  Council  who  were  known  to 
be  opposed  to  the  Fillmore  ticket.  On  August  26th,  when 
the  Council  came  together  at  Syracuse,  the  grand-president 
met  the  problem  by  taking  measures  to  avert  trouble.1  He 
secured  the  admission  of  Fillmore  delegates  to  the  Council, 
but  upon  some  pretext  rejected  the  credentials  of  those  dele- 
gates who  were  known  to  be  against  Fillmore.  In  this  way 
he  secured  unanimity  in  the  council-hall,  but  at  the  same  time 
he  created  an  angry  minority  on  the  outside.  It  was  this  out- 
side group  which  organized  as  a  state  convention  on  the  2/th 

1  Council  account  from  Times  reports. 


383]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK  i$$ 

and  solemnly  declared  itself  to  be  the  real  head  of  the  nativist 
party  in  the  state.  It  repudiated  the  regular  State  Council 
because  "  its  unconstitutional  and  illegal  action  has  freed 
Americans  from  all  obligation  and  allegiance  to  it  or  its  de- 
crees." The  seceders'  convention  did  not  attempt  to  consti- 
tute itself  a  grand  council,  but  apparently  abandoned  secrecy. 
Such  action  as  it  took  all  tended  toward  drawing  off  nativists 
to  the  Republican  movement  rather  than  holding  them  in 
touch  with  the  old  secret  organization.  For  instance,  the 
convention  repudiated  Fillmore  and  voted  an  endorsement  of 
Fremont.  Then  it  called  a  state  convention  of  Americans  to 
meet  in  Syracuse  on  the  same  date  in  September  on  which 
the  Republican  state  convention  was  to  be  held  there.  All 
this  showed  in  advance  the  finality  of  the  secession.  Mean- 
while the  regular  Grand  Council  held  a  two-days  session. 
On  August  26th  it  organized,  listened  to  reports  and  formed 
committees.  Next  day  it  endorsed  Fillmore  and  Donelson, 
appointed  a  new  state  committee  and  issued  the  usual  call  for 
a  state  nominating  convention.  The  new  state  committee  of 
ten  members  included  Elam  R.  Jewett,  of  Erie ;  L.  Sprague 
Parsons,  of  Albany ;  James  M.  Miller,  of  New  York  ;  John 
Gray,  of  Orange ;  Orson  Root,  of  Schoharie  ;  J.  A.  Smith,  of 
Washington  ;  Amos  H.  Prescott,  of  Herkimer ;  Abram  Law- 
rence, of  Schuyler ;  Lyman  Odell,  of  Livingston,  and  O.  C. 
Wright,  of  Niagara.  These  men  would  manage  the  state 
campaign.  The  Grand  Council  adjourned,  having  accom- 
plished as  its  greatest  work  the  splitting  off  of  that  disaffected 
element  which  could  not  be  depended  upon  to  support  the 
nominees  of  the  Order. 

The  next  act  in  this  drama  of  successive  conventions  was  the 
session  of  the  North  Americans  on  September  i/th,  as  called  by 
the  anti-slavery  element  which  Grand  President  Sammons  had 
forced  out  of  the  August  Grand  Council.  The  attempt  of  the 
seceders  to  organize  a  split  in  the  Order  seems  to  have  been  a 
failure:  at  least  the  Republican  press  does  not  exult  over  any 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


[384 


effects  of  it.  The  seceders  had  grandly  declared  their  conven- 
tion to  be  the  real  head  of  the  American  organization,  but  it 
was  a  head  without  a  body.  A  delegate  elected  by  a  Know- 
Nothing  council  had  no  power  to  violate  the  constitution  of 
the  state  society  nor  to  bind  his  own  council  to  an  unlawful 
act.  Although  the  seceders  of  August  had  the  sympathy  of 
a  certain  dissatisfied  element,  it  does  not  appear  that  they  were 
supported  in  their  extreme  acts.  Their  convention  met,  never- 
theless, at  Syracuse  on  September  i/th,1  while  the  Republican 
state  convention  was  in  session  there.  It  organized  with 
William  W.  Campbell,  of  Otsego,  as  presiding  officer.  Col. 
Silas  Seymour,  the  Know-Nothing  state  engineer,  then  of- 
fered a  resolution  that  the  convention  accept  and  support  the 
Republican  state  ticket.  This  brought  violent  debate  in  which 
the  fact  developed  that  not  all  the  convention  were  ready  to  be 
merged  into  Republicanism,  despite  their  leanings  that  way. 
The  majority  ruled,  however.  Seymour's  motion  was  carried. 
Then  came  that  almost  inevitable  feature  of  political  conven- 
tions in  this  memorable  year  of  1856.  The  minority  bolted 
and  called  a  new  convention.  The  gyrations  of  "  the  popular 
will  "  at  this  period  are  not  without  a  certain  amusing  side  in 
their  revelations  of  wavering  and  uncertainty  among  men.  At 
the  same  time  the  long  list  of  conventions,  counter-conventions, 
bolts  and  secessions  shows  interestingly  how  swiftly  changing 
was  the  political  structure  and  how  the  members  of  it  were  re- 
arranging themselves  in  obedience  to  new  forces.  It  was  a 
confusion  out  of  which  a  new  order  of  things  was  to  come. 
The  whole  story  of  the  conventions  of  1856,  so  far  as  it  con- 
cerns political  nativism,  may  be  condensed  in  two  statements. 
First,  the  slavery  issue  entered  the  national  organization  of  the 
Know-Nothing  Order  and  destroyed  its  unity.  Second,  the 
slavery  issue  entered  the  New  York  state  organization  of  the 
Order  and  weakened  it  without  destroying  its  unity.  In  every 
convention  the  fact  was  shown  that  the  anti-Southern  move- 
ment was  gaining  at  the  expense  of  nativism. 

1  Convention  account  from  Herald. 


385]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1836  IN  NEW  YORK 

On  September  23d  came  the  final  convention  of  the  list. 
The  regular  American  state  convention  met  at  Rochester,  and 
at  the  same  time  there  also  met  the  convention  called  by  the 
bolters  of  September  i/th.  Thanks  to  the  events  of  the 
August  Grand  Council  the  anti-slavery  element  was  prac- 
tically absent  from  both  bodies.  The  repentant  bolters  from 
the  Syracuse  gathering  made  overtures  to  the  regular  body 
and  were  welcomed  back  on  their  tacit  confession  of  error. 
Under  the  presidency  of  F.  W.  Walker,  of  Queens,  the  121 
delegates  of  the  erring  minority  held  their  session  open  until 
the  regular  state  ticket  was  chosen.  Then  they  voted  to  sup- 
port it  and  went  home.  The  regular  state  convention  had 
several  hundred  delegates  present.  It  organized  under  the 
presidency  of  James  W.  Barker  and  passed  to  the  nomination 
of  a  state  ticket  for  the  fall  election.  For  the  governorship 
the  delegates  were  of  one  mind  and  the  choice  was  made  by 
viva  voce  vote.  On  other  offices  ballots  were  taken.  The 
completed  ticket  was  as  follows : 

Governor Erastus  Brooks,  of  New  York. 

Lieut.-Governor Lyman  Odell,  of  Livingston. 

Canal  Commissioner  ......  Amos  H.  Prescolt,  of  Herkimer 

Prison  Inspector James  P.  Sanders,  of  Westchester. 

Clerk,  Court  of  Appeals    ....  Alexander  Mann,  of  Monroe. 

All  of  these  were  men  who  had  become  known  for  their 
work  in  aid  of  the  Know-Nothing  cause.  Brooks  was  editor 
of  the  leading  Know-Nothing  newspaper  of  the  state,  and  had 
for  a  year  been  looked  upon  as  the  logical  nominee  of  his 
party  for  the  governorship.1  Odell  was  the  nominee  of  the 
nativist  legislators  in  the  recent  speakership  contest  at  Albany. 
Sanders  was  the  unsuccessful  candidate  in  1854  for  the  same 
office  to  which  he  was  now  nominated.  Prescott  and  Mann 
were  local  leaders.  Prescott  had  served  in  the  legislature  and 
was  on  the  state  committee  of  his  party.  The  nominees  were 

1  Tribune,  1855,  November  7,  p.  4. 


!88  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [386 

all  good  representative  men.  Besides  the  state  ticket,  the 
convention  also  formed  an  electoral  ticket  to  represent  the 
Fillmore  and  Donelson  forces.  The  members  follow : 

Daniel  Ullman,  Silvester  Gilbert, 

Jesse  C.  Dann,  Charles  B.  Freeman, 

William  H.  Vanderbilt,  William  Greenman, 

Roswell  Graves,  Theodore  S.  Faxton, 

Joseph  H.  Toone,  Alexander  McDowell, 

Benedict  Lewis,  Jr.,  Samuel  J.  Holly, 

Gilbert  C.  Deane,  Henry  H.  Babcock, 

Henry  Grinnell,  B.  Davis  Noxon, 

Alexander  M.  C.  Smith,  John  Knowles,  Jr., 

Richard  S.  Gray,  Barzillai  Slosson, 

Abram  Hatfield,  Lewis  H.  Culver. 

Andrew  Conger,  Truman  Warner, 

Rufus  W.  Watson,  Jonathan  Child, 

Charles  Whiting,  Abel  Webster, 

Orsamus  Eaton,  John  T.  Bush, 

Leonard  G.  Ten  Eyck,  Nelson  Randall, 

Daniel  A.  Bullard,  James  G.  Johnson. 
Henry  N.  Brush. 

After  the  Rochester  convention  the  state  campaign  began. 
The  national  campaign  was  already  in  full  swing  at  this  time, 
and  up  to  election  day  it  completely  overshadowed  the  state 
contest.  There  was  no  new  issue  in  the  state  administration 
to  be  decided  and  nothing  important  to  draw  away  attention 
from  the  great  national  issue  of  the  relations  between  the 
North  and  South.  The  latter  was  the  real  point  of  the  whole 
struggle.  The  work  of  the  anti-Southern  leaders  had  been 
successful  in  forcing  their  issue  to  the  front  and  practically 
excluding  nativism  from  the  popular  interest.  Nativism 
might  yet,  perhaps,  be  a  potent  issue  in  some  of  the  country 
districts  where  the  Know-Nothing  organization  was  a  recent 
invader,  but  in  the  older  regions  of  nativist  work  the  doctrines 
of  the  movement  had  lost  their  hold  to  a  great  extent.  Thou- 
sands of  the  voters  who  supported  nativism  in  1855  were 
turned  into  the  Republican  column.  Many  of  the  newspapers 


387]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK 

which  had  fought  against  the  Seward  coalition  in  the  former 
campaign  now  joined  the  current  of  the  hour  and  worked  for 
the  Fremont  ticket  or  else  for  the  Democracy.  The  Whig 
Party  was  gone,  leaving  a  remembrance  of  itself  in  the  group 
of  Old-line  Whigs,  whose  state  convention  of  August  I4th  en- 
dorsed Fillmore.1  But  this  remnant  of  the  Whig  Party  was 
only  a  shadow.  The  Republican  organization  was  making 
good  its  claim  to  the  place  that  the  Americans  had  sought  to 
reach,  that  of  permanent  antagonist  to  the  Democracy  in  place 
of  the  old  Whig  Party.  The  movement  was  showing  itself  to 
be  a  real  party.  Fillmore's  candidacy  had  been  hopeful  of 
success  before  the  anti-Fillmore  convention  of  June.  After 
that  event  the  futility  of  his  prospects  became  manifest  as  the 
campaign  went  on.  The  presidential  question  settled  down  to 
the  choice  between  Fremont  and  Buchanan.  The  nativist 
vote  was  appealed  to  for  help  by  both  Republicans  and  Demo- 
crats, each  side  trying  to  profit  by  the  nativist  antipathy  for  its 
rival.  While  Democrats  worked  upon  the  nativist  hatred  of 
Seward  and  sectionalism,  the  Republican  press  worked  upon 
the  nativist  dislike  of  the  Democracy.  There  seems  to  have 
been  some  slight  effect  of  these  efforts,  for  the  nativist  presi- 
dential ticket  ran  5,000  votes  lower  than  the  state  ticket.  The 
averages  on  state  tickets  were  as  follows  :2 

King-Selden  ticket  : 

Republican  Party  ..............    » 

Radical  Democrats  .............    t  266,300  votes. 

Anti-Fillmore  men  .............  J 

Parker-Vanderbilt  ticket  : 

Democratic  Party  ...............  197,200  votes. 

Brooks  Odell  ticket  : 

Nativist 


129,700  votes. 
Whig  Party    ................   / 

1  Times  t  1856,  August  15,  p.  I. 

2  From  official  canvass  broadside.    Liberty  Party  omitted,  having  cast  about  160 
votes  in  the  state. 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

This  election  showed  conclusively  that  the  nativist  political 
movement  was  on  the  wane.  In  1855  it  had  been  strong 
enough  to  cast  34  per  cent,  of  the  total  vote  of  the  state,  while 
now  it  cast  only  22  per  cent.  Such  a  loss  was  appalling  to 
those  who  had  hoped  for  the  future  success  of  the  American 
organization.  It  showed  that  organized  nativism  could  not 
withstand  the  steady  pressure  of  the  slavery  issue.  It  showed 
that  the  backing  of  popular  favor  was  being  withdrawn  from 
under  the  fabric  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order.  The  loss  to 
the  nativist  party  in  New  York  was  not  in  any  one  section,  but 
was  distributed  all  over  the  state.  In  a  few  counties  there 
was  a  slight  increase  of  the  nativist  vote  over  that  of  1855, 
but  it  was  not  significant.  The  election  was  a  Republican  vic- 
tory. On  the  state  ticket  the  Know-Nothings  were  weaker 
than  either  of  their  rivals.  They  elected  only  eight  assembly- 
men to  the  legislature  and  only  two  members  of  Congress. 
In  the  coming  year  the  nativist  organization  would  have  no 
influence  whatever  either  in  state  administration  or  in  public 
legislation.  They  had  failed  to  harvest  any  results  from  the 
power  won  by  them  in  the  campaign  of  1855.  The  state  can- 
vass showed  the  following  poll  and  percentages  for  governor 
in  the  counties  of  the  state: 

Per  ctnt.     Vote.  Percent.     Vote. 


Albany 31  .    .  5,655  Essex 20  . 

Alleghany II  .    .     987  Franklin 30  . 

Broome II  .    .     833  Fulton-Hamilton  ...  21  . 

Cattaraugus 14..  1,064  Genesee 20  . 


,011 
,260 

,178 
,216 


Cayuga 19  .  .  2,091  Greene 26  ..    ,555 

Chautauqua 19  .  .  2,142  Herkimer 17  .    .    ,355 

Chemung 15  .  .     796  Jefferson 9  •    •  !>°9O 

Chenango 13..  1.205  Kings 29  .    .  8,777 

Clinton 23  .  .  1,388  Lewis II  .    .     495 

Columbia 23  .  .  2,005  Livingston 29  ..  2,132 

Cortland 12  .  .      658  Madison II  .    .     958 

Delaware 23  .  .  1,981  Monroe 21  ..  3,197 

Dutchess 1 8  2,023  Montgomery 28  ..  1,744 

Erie 28  .  .  5,552  New  York 28  .    21,423 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  ;8j6  IN  NEW  YORK 


Niagara 26  .    .  2,025 

Oneida 9  .    .  1,746 


1,994 
2,283 
2,209 
1,502 


Onondaga 12 

Ontario  .......  27 

Orange 21 

Orleans 27 

Oswego II  ..  1,391 

Otsego 12  ..  1,310 

Putnam 19  .    .     477 

Queens 34  .    .  2,304 

Rensselaer 35  ••  4,9 1 3 

Richmond 29  .    .     957 

Rockland 30  .    .     937 

St.  Lawrence    ....  n  .    .  1,422 

Saratoga    .....  28  ..  2,685 

Schenectady 34  .    .  1,258 


Schoharie 25  .    .  1,700 

Schuyler 16  .    .     641 

Seneca 26  ..  1,311 

Steuben 17  ..  2,116 

Suffolk 31  ..  1,951 

Sullivan 39  .    .  2,068 

Tioga 8  .    .     464 

Tompkins 21  ..  1,470 

Ulster 40  ..  4,739 

Warren 21  .    .     818 

Washington 24  .    .  2,059 

Wayne 17  .    .  1,568 

Westchester 29  ..  3,750 

Wyoming IO  .    .     642 

Yates 9  .    .     389 


The  lesson  of  the  canvass  of  1856  was  easily  read  by  the 
leaders  of  political  nativism.  It  told  them  that  their  move- 
ment was  dying  as  a  national  party  and  as  a  state  organization. 
It  told  them  emphatically  that  the  new  Republican  Party  was 
in  the  ascendant,  and  that  Know-Nothing  voters  were  desert- 
ing nativism  to  join  the  new  favorite.  Their  fight  to  restrain 
the  exodus  from  the  secret  councils  had  been  only  partially 
successful.  If  political  nativism  in  New  York  hoped  to  hold 
itself  in  place  as  a  factor  in  state  politics  it  must  find  some  new 
source  of  strength,  either  in  principles  or  organization.  Some 
voices  were  raised  to  ask  the  abolition  of  the  secret  system, 
while  others  asked  a  new  platform,  and  still  others  advised  a 
return  to  the  old  method  of  endorsing  nominees  of  other  par- 
ties. The  work  of  change,  if  any  there  was  to  be,  would  fall 
upon  the  Grand  Council  of  February,  1857. 

The  Grand  Council  met  at  Troy  on  February  24th  and  after 
organization  turned  first  to  the  election  of  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year.  Friends  of  James  W.  Barker  proposed  to  put 
him  again  at  the  head  of  the  secret  order,  but  the  Council 
chose  Jesse  C.  Dann,  of  Erie,  as  president.  For  vice- 
president  the  choice  of  Henry  B.  Northrup,  of  Washington, 


192  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

and  for  secretary  that  of  C.  D.  Brigham,  of  Albany,  were 
made.  That  element  which  desired  to  reform  the  Order  and 
improve  its  political  prospects  by  an  alteration  or  destruction  of 
the  secret  system  soon  found  voice  in  the  Council  proceed- 
ings. At  the  second  day's  session  a  delegate  from  Brooklyn 
opened  an  attack  on  the  secret  system,  but  the  debate  which 
began  was  interrupted  by  the  report  of  the  committee  on  plat- 
form which  had  been  laboring  to  satisfy  the  demands  for 
improvement  in  the  American  Party  principles.  Ever  since  the 
adoption  of  the  "Binghamton  platform"  in  August,  1855,  that 
document  had  been  the  formula  of  American  principles  in 
New  York.  But  now  nativism  needed  to  declare  itself  again 
as  to  its  position  on  the  slavery  issue.  The  committee  accord- 
ingly brought  in  a  new  platform  which  re-stated  the  old 
neutral  position  of  the  Order  as  to  slavery  and  closed  with  a 
savage  criticism  of  the  Republican  leaders  who  represented 
that  issue.  The  Grand  Council  voted  to  adopt  the  platform 
as  reported.  Then  the  debate  swung  back  again  to  the  sub- 
ject of  the  secret  ritual.  Delegate  Parsons,  of  Albany,  offered 
a  resolution  abolishing  all  oaths,  obligations  and  degrees  in 
the  party.  This  resolution  seems  to  have  passed,  but  not  for 
immediate  effect.  Instead,  a  committee  of  five  headed  by 
Parsons  was  given  the  duty  of  reporting  a  revised  and  simpli- 
fied ritual  to  the  next  Grand  Council.  With  this  action  the 
Council  left  the  subject.  Next  came  the  election  of  two  dele- 
gates to  the  National  Council.  Then  after  a  resolution  de- 
nouncing Senator  Seward  for  certain  compliments  to  the 
foreign  element,  the  body  adjourned.  The  demand  for 
changes  in  the  Know-Nothing  system  had  been  juggled  at 
this  session  instead  of  approved.  The  Grand  Council  made 
no  change  whatever  in  the  secret  system.  By  seeming 
acquiescence  in  the  demands  for  changes,  these  demands  had 
really  been  put  off  to  another  day,  while  the  secret  system 
remained  as  before.  The  new  platform  of  the  party  was  as 
follows : 


39 1  ]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1836  IN  NEW  YORK  193 

Resolved,  That  we  emphatically  affirm  the  Binghamton  Platform,  consisting  o( 
eight  sections. 

[Here  follow  those  sections  in  full.] 

Resolved,  That  while  the  American  Party  in  the  State  of  New  York  tolerates 
free  discussion  and  free  expression  of  individual  opinions  on  the  various  political 
questions  of  the  day,  yet  under  every  political  complication  the  pure  question  of 
Americanism  shall  take  precedence  of  all  others. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  now,  as  we  ever  have  been,  unalterably  opposed  to  the 
extension  of  slavery  into  territory  from  which,  by  the  Missouri  Compromise,  it  had 
been  excluded  forever. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  opposed  to  the  use  of  the  power  of  the  general  govern- 
ment to  extend  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  are  willing  that  the  natural  laws  which 
govern  emigration  shall  decide  that  great  question  without  the  least  interference 
of  federal  authority. 

Resolved,  That  the  recent  exposure  of  corruption  at  Washington,  the  gross 
venality  of  political  leaders  and  the  present  effort  of  the  State  Senate  to  strip  the 
American  Canal  Board  of  its  power,  are  in  direct  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Con- 
stitution and  reveal  the  objects  and  character  of  those  who  profess  to  be  apostles 
of  humanity  and  freedom,  and  should  open  the  ears  of  every  honest  man  to  his 
true  position  while  aiding  to  elevate  them  to  places  of  trust  and  power. 

The  National  Council  for  which  the  New  York  Grand 
Council  elected  delegates  met  at  Louisville  in  June,  1857.' 
Among  its  members  were  Erastus  Brooks  as  National  Vice- 
President,  with  James  W.  Barker  and  Stephen  B.  Cushing  as 
regular  delegates  from  New  York.  The  defeat  of  Fillmore 
had  ended  the  political  usefulness  of  the  National  Council,  and 
since  its  value  as  an  administrative  head  of  a  secret  society 
was  gone  long  before,  the  members  now  decided  to  close  it 
forever.  The  national  officers  were  elected  for  another  year 
and  a  national  committee  was  provided  for  with  power  to  re- 
convene the  Council  if  there  seemed  need  of  it  in  the  near 
future.  On  June  3d  the  National  Council  adjourned  sine  die 
and  with  this  act  ended  finally  the  national  organization  of  the 
Know-Nothings,  after  a  meteoric  career  of  only  three  years. 
The  Council  never  met  again.  In  July,  1857,  the  National  Presi- 
dent appointed  a  national  committee  of  thirteen  members  as  the 
Council  had  provided.2  New  York  was  represented  in  it  by 

1  Herald  and  Times  reports. 
»  Herald,  1857,  July  19,  p.  4. 


POLITICAL  NAT2VISM  [392 

Erastus  Brooks  and  James  W.  Barker,  but  it  is  not  on  record 
that  the  committee  ever  took  any  official  action. 

The  final  disbandment  of  the  National  Council  was  fresh  in 
the  minds  of  the  New  York  Know- Nothings  when  the  Grand 
"Council  met  again  for  its  semi-annual  session  in  August  at 
Brooklyn.  There  seem  to  be  no  available  statistics  as  to  the 
strength  of  the  secret  order  at  this  time.  In  the  earlier  life 
of  the  Order  the  grand-president  was  accustomed  to  report 
the  increase  of  membership  from  time  to  time,  but  during  its 
decadence  there  was  a  reticence  as  to  such  facts  that  can  be 
easily  understood.  The  regular  August  session  of  1857  began 
on  the  25th.  After  organization  the  president  delivered  the 
annual  address.  Among  other  suggestions  he  advised  that 
the  whole  system  of  council  organization  be  dissolved,  and 
that  the  Order  become  in  form  as  well  as  in  name  a  political 
party,  governed  only  by  committees  and  conventions.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  address  the  proposal  came  before  the  Coun- 
cil for  consideration.  The  debate  soon  showed  two  ideas  of 
change.  Some  desired  with  the  grand-president  to  abolish 
the  council  system  and  with  it  the  secret  ritual,  while  others 
wished  to  keep  the  council  system,  but  without  the  secret  rit- 
ual. A  delegate  from  Onondaga  finally  brought  about  a  vote 
on  the  question  of  organization,  and  the  council  system  was 
saved.  This  left  the  fate  of  the  ritual  yet  undecided.  The  Par- 
sons committee  now  reported  on  the  simplified  ritual  which 
the  preceding  Council  had  empowered  it  to  make.  Since  the 
February  session  the  committee  had  formulated,  printed  and 
distributed  to  subordinate  councils  a  new  ritual.  This  new 
form  was  not  wholly  satisfactory  and  failed  of  adoption,  and  at 
the  close  of  discussion  the  secret  procedure  of  the  Order  was 
wholly  abolished  by  formal  vote.  An  order  was  also  passed 
that  in  future  the  Grand  Council  should  meet  only  once  a  year,  in 
each  successive  August.  Following  is  the  text  of  the  resolu- 
tion that  ended  the  secret  system : l 

1  Herald,  1857,  August  26,  p.  I. 


393]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK  ^5 

Resolved,  That  the  oaths,  obligations  and  degrees  of  this  Order  be  dispensed 
with,  and  that  hereafter  members  be  admitted  by  signing  the  platform  and  reso- 
lutions passed  by  the  State  Council,  and  assenting  to  the  following  pledge :  You 
do  hereby  promise  upon  the  honor  of  an  American  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  the 
principles  of  the  American  Party. 

This  abolition  of  degrees  and  oaths  took  away  all  the  ties  of 
pledged  brotherhood  that  had  made  the  Know-Nothing  Order 
a  real  fraternity  of  American  citizens.  The  members  of  the 
American  organization  would  not  in  future  have  any  special 
duties  toward  their  fellow-members,  and  since  the  existence  of 
such  duties  is  the  essential  feature  of  a  brotherhood,  the 
American  organization  would  be  henceforth  only  a  non-secret 
society  of  the  simplest  type.  After  August  25,  1857,  it  is  no 
longer  proper  to  refer  to  the  Know-Nothing  Order  as  existent 
in  New  York.  At  the  same  time  the  vague  term  "  Know- 
Nothing  "  as  a  synonym  for  "  nativist "  was  very  commonly 
used  so  long  as  any  American  organization  existed.  The 
abolition  of  the  secret  ritual  received  very  little  notice  at  the 
time  it  occurred,  because  its  mystery  had  long  since  been 
stripped  away  by  hostile  critics.  Nevertheless,  the  formal 
change  made  by  the  Council  was  an  important  landmark  in 
the  story  of  political  nativism. 

The  peculiar  system  of  secret  political  work  which  thus 
found  its  ending  after  seven  years  of  energetic  activity  stands 
out  in  the  history  of  the  nation  as  an  abnormal  feature  of 
American  politics.  It  has  been,  during  its  life  and  since  its 
death,  subjected  to  bitter  criticism,  reproach  and  ridicule. 
Yet  it  is  not  to  be  dismissed  with  a  gibe  and  a  fling  merely 
because  it  has  passed  away.  The  same  influences  that  created 
it  then  still  exist  to-day.  Within  recent  years  the  politics  o 
New  York  state,  and  possibly  also  those  of  the  nation,  have 
felt  the  effects  of  a  similar  secret  system.  The  influence  of 
secret  societies  in  American  politics  has,  in  fact,  been  almost 
continuous,  though  none  other  ever  reached  the  gigantic 
growth  attained  by  the  great  Know-Nothing  society.  The 


!p6  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM 

latter  stands  out  in  such  bold  relief  in  the  nation's  history  on 
account  of  the  national  character  of  its  effort.  Usually  the 
secret  organizations  of  the  American  people  have  been  local 
in  their  efforts. 

The  end  of  the  Know-Nothing  secrecy  in  New  York  state  is 
an  appropriate  point  at  which  to  review  the  nature  of  this  sys- 
tem, whose  success  was  so  brilliant  and  so  brief.  It  is  well,  by 
way  of  preface,  to  note  that  there  was  no  necessary  connection 
between  the  secret  system  in  politics  and  the  principles  of 
nativism.  Organized  secrecy  has  been  used  to  forward  other 
than  nativist  doctrines,  and  nativist  principles  have  been  often 
promoted  without  the  aid  of  secrecy. 

What  was  the  origin  of  the  secret  system?  It  was  an  effort 
to  offset  clannishness  of  one  sort  with  a  clannishness  of  another 
kind.  There  existed  in  the  American  community  a  minority 
group  of  persons  who  differed  in  race,  thought,  life  and  re- 
ligion from  the  mass  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  who  yet 
gained  distinct  advantages  for  themselves  by  acting  together. 
The  American-born  population  as  a  whole  was  not  by  nature 
clannish  nor  jealous  of  the  foreign-born  minority,  but  in  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  natives  both  these  feelings  existed. 
The  jealous  element  sought  a  medium  of  expression.  Already 
there  existed  in  the  community  a  form  of  association  called 
the  secret  society,  which  was  essentially  an  artificial  clan, 
founded  on  an  artificial  sense  of  brotherhood.  The  secret 
society  system  naturally  offered  itself  and  was  accepted  as  an 
offset  to  the  racial  group.  There  was  no  prescriptive  feature 
of  the  Know-Nothing  clan  which  was  not  duplicated  by  the 
racial  group  to  which  it  was  opposed.  The  difference  was 
that  in  the  one  case  it  was  a  matter  of  written  rule,  while  in 
the  other  it  was  a  matter  ot  instinct. 

Why  did  the  system  expand  ?  In  New  York  city  it  expanded 
because  it  furnished  an  easy  remedy  for  the  more  objectionable 
forms  of  race-clannishness.  In  economic  effort  natives  were 
at  liberty  to  traffic  with  the  foreign  people  or  not  as  they 


395]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK 

pleased,  and  could  easily  avoid  contact  when  desirable.  In 
social  effort  the  native-born  were  equally  free  to  seek  or  avoid 
social  intercourse  with  the  foreign  element  as  preference  might 
dictate.  But  in  political  effort  the  contact  was  unavoidable. 
If  aliens  were  insolent  in  office  and  bullies  at  the  polls,  if  they 
packed  party  primaries  and  made  conventions  farcical,  the  rem- 
edy was  less  easy  to  find.  Some  nativists  believed  in  the  rem- 
edy of  meeting  force  with  force,  and  from  this  plan,  when  car- 
ried out,  came  the  riots  of  the  great  cities.  More  conservative 
men  preferred  a  peaceable  way  of  checking  evils,  and  saw  the 
means  in  the  use  of  secret  politics.  Had  the  anti-foreign 
movement  been  an  open  one,  it  probably  could  never  have 
attained  strength;  for  every  member  would  have  been  a 
marked  man,  denounced  by  his  party,  attacked  at  the  polls  and 
injured  in  his  business.  In  the  secret  system  the  minority 
could  act  without  exposing  individuals.  These  facts  explain 
local  expansion,  but  they  apply  less  to  the  state  at  large.  In 
1854,  by  a  sudden  leap,  the  secret  system  spread  far  beyond 
the  bounds  of  local  effort.  It  took  a  gigantic  stride  toward 
power  as  a  state  and  national  organization.  This  expansion 
requires  a  different  explanation.  The  whole  nativist  move- 
ment in  state  and  national  affairs  was  a  politicians'  movement 
rather  than  a  popular  one.  The  leaders  in  politics  welcomed 
the  issue  of  nativism  as  an  escape  from  the  chaos  that  was 
growing  in  party  conditions.  They  accepted  with  it  the  secret 
system  because  the  two  had  necessarily  at  first  to  be  taken 
together.  The  hold  of  the  secret  system  on  state  and  na- 
tional politics  was  nevertheless  insecure.  In  most  cases  the 
secret  system  was  shaken  off  as  soon  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  There  is  a  double  answer,  then,  to  the  question 
why  the  Know-Nothing  Order  spread.  In  the  politics  of  the 
great  cities  the  secret  system  expanded  because  it  furnished  a 
convenient  medium  for  desired  reform.  In  the  politics  of  the 
nation  and  the  states  it  expanded  with  the  growing  issues 
which  it  represented  because  at  first  it  could  not  be  separated 
from  them. 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


[396 


Was  the  secret  system  a  public  danger?  The  Know- 
Nothing  Order  was  a  well-hated  institution  while  it  lived. 
Unsparing  criticisms  were  launched  against  it  by  those 
whose  plans  it  frustrated.  Yet,  in  general,  the  critics  were 
not  specific  in  their  charges.  The  personal  respectability 
of  the  Order  in  New  York  state  was  unquestioned.  It 
was  never  charged  against  the  secret  system  that  it  was  a 
refuge  for  the  disorderly,  the  disreputable  or  the  corrupt. 
In  fact,  the  peculiar  machinery  of  the  Know-Nothing 
Order  could  hardly  have  been  worked  successfully  except 
by  intelligent,  well-meaning  and  law-abiding  men.  The  use 
of  the  ritual  and  the  maintenance  of  discipline  were  condi- 
tioned upon  these  qualities.  It  is  doubtful  whether.  a  society 
of  this  sort  could  ever  have  been  a  public  danger  by  reason  of 
its  personnel.  Commonly  the  attacks  on  the  Know-Nothing 
Order  were  directed  against  its  secrecy  of  action.  Occasion- 
ally the  secrecy  of  membership  was  touched  upon,  but  little 
stress  was  laid  on  this  latter  feature,  since  it  was  largely  a 
matter  of  individual  taste  whether  or  not  a  person  should 
avow  his  connection.  As  to  secrecy  of  action,  the  critics  de- 
clared in  general  phrases  that  it  was  dangerous  to  the  com- 
mon weal  for  large  bodies  of  men  to  act  in  secret  on  political 
matters.  At  the  same  time  this  dictum  was  not  supported  by 
specific  references  to  abuses  arising  from  secret  action.  The 
complaint  originated  chiefly  among  those  politicians  whose 
schemes  were  upset  by  Know-Nothing  secrecy,  and  who  ap- 
pealed in  self-defence  to  the  jealousy  of  American  voters.  The 
apologists  of  secrecy  answered  pertinently  that  political  party 
committees  were  secret  in  action  and  no  one  expected  them 
to  be  otherwise;  that  a  Know-Nothing  council  was  a  political 
committee  sworn  to  uphold  American  institutions,  and  that  it 
used  secrecy  for  a  certain  good  and  unconcealed  reason. 
This  reason,  they  explained,  was  the  necessity  of  fighting  the 
secret  machinations  of  the  Roman  church  with  like  subtlety. 
Inadequate  to  the  real  facts  as  this  reason  was,  it  passed  as  an 


397]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856  IN  NEW  YORK 

excuse.  Logical  attacks  on  secrecy  were  made  difficult,  also, 
from  the  obvious  fact  that  secrecy  was  seemingly  justified 
when  it  secured  a  plurality  of  votes.  Viewed  from  the  stand- 
point of  later  years,  it  can  be  seen  that  the  real  danger  of  sus- 
tained secrecy  in  politics  lies  partly  in  the  fact  that  issues  and 
men  may  be  withheld  by  it  from  the  public  scrutiny,  and  be 
put  in  power  without  due  debate,  and  partly,  also,  in  the  fact 
that  organized  secrecy  gives  undue  influence  to  minorities. 
Yet  even  these  objections  hardly  hold  against  an  organization 
in  state  politics,  for  a  sustained  secrecy  of  men  and  measures 
in  a  political  contest  extending  over  a  wide  area  is  practically 
impossible.  They  hold  good  as  to  local  politics.  It  is  right 
that  any  issue  which  seeks  recognition  should  let  its  character 
and  support  be  known,  so  that  the  opposition  may  array  itself 
for  a  fair  fight.  The  system  of  political  secrecy,  then,  would 
seem  to  be  a  real  public  danger,  though  practically  limited  by 
the  inability  to  sustain  secrecy  with  a  popular  large  support. 

Did  the  secret  system  enslave  the  voter  ?  It  is  a  favorite 
charge  against  secret  societies  of  all  sorts  that  they  take  away 
the  free-will  of  their  members.  The  Know-Nothing  Order 
was  criticised  on  this  ground,  and  its  oaths  and  higher  de- 
grees were  cited  as  evidence.  The  general  charge  of  limiting 
the  free-will  of  individuals  is  one  to  which  nearly  every  organi- 
zation, secret  or  non-secret,  must  plead  guilty.  Else  there 
were  little  virtue  in  organization.  In  its  general  form,  there- 
fore, the  charge  is  misleading  when  used  as  a  reproach.  When 
the  attack  upon  societies  is  made  upon  the  specific  point  of 
using  oaths,  then  it  can  be  considered  more  closely.  In 
practice,  all  secret  societies  are  voluntary  societies  whose 
members  may  withdraw  and  lay  aside  both  the  active  duties 
imposed  upon  them  by  the  terms  of  their  membership,  and  the 
advantages  connected  with  that  membership.  Secret  society 
oaths  seldom  refer  to  this  right  of  withdrawal,  but  are  usually 
phrased  upon  the  tacit  assumption  that  no  withdrawal  will 
occur.  Wherever  an  oath  of  association  attempts,  therefore, 


200  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [398 

to  regulate  the  action  of  members  while  outside  of  active  mem- 
bership, it  is  contradictory  to  practice.  The  Know-Nothing 
oath  of  the  first  degree  was  not  so  phrased  as  to  be  perpetu- 
ally binding.  This  was  the  oath  taken  by  the  ordinary  voter 
who  came  into  the  society.  He  was  in  no  way  bound,  there- 
fore, to  limit  his  own  free-will,  except  so  long  as  he  might 
choose  to  do  so  by  keeping  his  membership.  With  regard  to 
those  Know-Nothings  who  progressed  to  the  second  or  third 
degrees,  the  case  was  somewhat  different.  Here  the  member 
bound  himself  to  keep  the  oath  "  through  life."  By  theory, 
the  taker  of  these  degrees  lost  his  free-will  for  the  rest  of  his 
life,  whereas,  by  practice,  he  threw  off  his  limitations  by  sim- 
ple withdrawal  from  the  organization.  The  charge  against 
the  higher  degrees  was  that  they  gathered  to  themselves  the 
real  control  of  the  society,  and  left  the  general  membership 
only  the  power  to  follow  the  self-elected  leaders.  The  actual 
fact  in  the  Know-Nothing  Order  was  that  the  first-degree  men 
were  the  ones  who  decided  all  definite  political  action.  The 
higher-degree  men  had  no  power  to  coerce  the  general  mem- 
bership in  any  way,  and  among  all  the  complaints  that  were 
voiced  against  the  Know-Nothing  system  in  New  York  at 
various  times  by  dissatisfied  members  of  the  Order,  there  is 
nowhere  an  allegation  that  the  higher  degrees  were  possessed 
of  undue  power.  There  was  one  slight  element  of  truth  in  the 
charge  against  the  higher-degree  men.  It  was  this,  that  in  the 
Know-Nothing  Order,  as  in  all  societies,  there  were  cliques  of 
leaders,  and  that  these  cliques  usually  held  the  upper  degrees. 
This  condition  of  affairs  was  precisely  what  the  Know-Noth- 
ing system  desired.  It  was  intended  that  the  real  leaders  of 
the  Order  should  be  tagged  and  labeled,  so  to  speak,  that 
they  might  be  recognized  and  treated  as  such. 

What  were  the  results  of  the  secret  system  ?  Since  the 
machinery  of  political  effort  was  only  a  medium,  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  the  results  produced  would  follow  very  closely 
the  character  of  the  group  who  used  the  machinery.  The 


399]  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  l8^  IN  NEW  YORK  20 1 

leaders  of  the  Know-Nothing  society  during  its  rise  to  power 
were  earnest  and  sincere.  Their  machinery  gave  the  well- 
intentioned  voter  more  power  than  he  received  from  the  great 
political  parties.  The  secret  Order  brought  new  men  to  the 
front  and  did  something  in  the  way  of  purifying  politics.  It 
made  its  mistakes,  as  was  natural,  but  on  the  whole  its  influ- 
ence upon  politics  was  good.  At  the  height  of  its  power  it 
fell  more  into  the  hands  of  professional  politicians,  some  of 
them  being  men  of  its  own  creation.  It  was  then  that  intrigue 
and  unfairness  destroyed  the  virtues  of  the  secret  system. 
Yet,  from  first  to  last,  with  all  its  errors  and  weaknesses,  the 
record  made  by  the  secret  system  in  New  York  state  was  not 
unfavorable  to  it.  It  did  not  encourage  lawlessness,  corrupt  the 
franchise  or  stifle  public  opinion,  and  all  these  offenses  were 
chargeable  against  the  open  political  organizations  of  the  day. 
Can  a  secret  movement  be  successful?  There  seems  to  be 
nothing  to  prevent  a  repetition  in  American  politics  of  the 
phenomena  of  a  secret  political  movement.  Under  favoring 
conditions  some  well-organized  society  might  meet  as  startling 
a  growth  and  sudden  success  as  did  the  secret  order  of  the 
Know-Nothings.  There  are  several  conditions,  however, 
which  make  it  very  doubtful  whether  such  a  system  could  be 
other  than  transitory.  The  preservation  of  strict  secrecy  by 
a  large  organization  is  difficult  if  its  enemies  are  active.  It 
would  be  practically  impossible  for  any  political  society  to 
keep  its  character  or  aims  secret  for  more  than  one  campaign. 
The  most  that  it  could  do  would  be  to  keep  secret  its  methods 
of  work.  More  important  for  its  success  than  aught  else 
would  be  its  ability  to  hold  the  confidence  of  the  public.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  no  secret  movement  in  the  political  field  could 
avoid  the  chill  of  jealous  suspicion  from  the  moment  that  it 
made  its  demand  for  recognition.  By  patriotic  professions 
that  suspicion  might  be  held  in  check,  but  it  would  be  a  bur- 
den which  would  have  to  be  borne.  The  inevitable  tendency 
of  such  movement  would  be,  as  it  was  in  the  Know-Nothing 


2Q2  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM 

Order,  ultimately  to  sacrifice  the  element  of  secrecy  in  some 
moment  of  need,  in  order  to  appease  criticism  and  gain  sup- 
port. This  has  been  the  experience  of  the  secret  societies 
which  have  endeavored  to  organize  voters.  The  instinct  of 
the  American  people  may  be  said  to  be  in  the  main  opposed 
to  secret  organization  for  political  effort.  In  the  constant  war- 
fare of  politics  every  voter  is  a  combatant,  and  no  man  likes 
an  opponent  whose  strength  or  whose  motives  he  cannot 
gauge. 


CHAPTER  IX 

LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY,   1854-1860 

THE  local  history  of  the  nativist  movement  in  New  York 
city  possesses  a  special  interest  not  attached  to  its  existence 
in  any  other  part  of  the  state.  It  was  here  that  it  had  its 
origin  and  its  greatest  real  strength.  Probably  there  was  no 
other  place  in  the  state  where  the  movement  was  so  largely 
based  upon  actual  antipathy  for  the  foreign  element  which  it 
desired  to  limit.  In  New  York  city,  too,  lay  the  strength  of 
the  earlier  governing  cliques  of  the  Know- Nothings  and 
kindred  orders.  Their  personal  influence  in  the  secret  associ- 
ations to  which  they  belonged  kept  them  in  their  place.  In 
the  local  columns  of  the  New  York  press  can  be  read  more 
clearly  than  anywhere  else,  the  evolution  of  the  secret  move- 
ment and  the  causes  of  its  decay. 

The  story  of  nativism  as  a  local  force  in  New  York  city 
may  be  taken  up  again  in  the  summer  of  1854,  when  it  was 
differentiated  from  the  wider  interests  of  the  secret  order  by 
the  entry  of  the  latter  into  the  field  of  state  politics  under  the 
direction  of  President  Barker.  The  managers  of  nativism  at 
this  time  were  not  the  less  attentive  to  New  York  city  on 
account  of  having  the  whole  state  to  engage  their  attention. 
On  the  contrary,  their  personal  interest  lay  more  in  city  poli- 
tics than  in  state  affairs.  The  situation  in  the  local  politics  of 
New  York  city  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1854  was 
very  similar  to  that  in  the  state  at  large.  There  were  two  old 
parties  broken  up  into  factional  groups,  and  three  organized 
movements,  striving  to  gain  recognition  for  their  respective 
issues.  Anti-slavery  had  no  organization  devoted  to  it  in 
401]  203 


204  POLITICAL  N ATI  VIS M  [402 

local  politics.  The  three  local  issues  were  nativism,  temper- 
ance and  municipal  reform.  Each  one  of  these  was  organized 
and  insistent.  Of  this  trio,  nativism  was  undoubtedly  the 
strongest  when  the  campaign  began.  The  nativist  secret 
societies  in  the  city  were  now  in  their  time  of  growth.  Their 
members  were  enthusiastic  and  sincere.  Bound  to  the  doc- 
trine of  political  action  by  the  strong  tie  of  an  oath,  the 
organized  nativists  were  an  important  element  within  the  lines 
of  every  other  political  organization.  They  dominated  the 
Whig  and  temperance  organizations.  They  were  strong  in 
the  Hard-Shell  Democracy  and  in  the  city-reform  movement. 
Even  in  the  Soft-Shell  Democracy,  with  its  predilection  for 
the  foreign  vote,  the  nativist  influence  made  itself  heeded  by 
the  party  managers.  Not  merely  in  numbers,  but  in  organi- 
zation as  well  was  nativism  strong.  In  July,  1854,  the  Know- 
Nothing  managers  created  the  machinery  of  the  city  com- 
mittee with  its  descending  hierarchy  of  executive  workers. 
Over  each  ward  was  a  council-president,  over  each  election 
district  was  a  superintendent,  and  over  each  ten  voters  was  an 
assistant  pledged  to  muster  his  men  at  the  polls.1  This  sys- 
tem was  calculated  to  poll  every  vote  that  was  at  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Order.  In  this  effort  the  Order  was  supported 
by  the  O.  U.  A.,  whose  leaders  desired  their  executive  system 
to  work  in  harmony  with  that  of  the  Know-Nothings.  The 
Executive  Convention  of  the  O.  U.  A.  on  August  I4th  also 
parceled  out  the  executive  members  into  ward  groups  for 
more  effective  action  than  before.2 

Under  the  inspiration  of  expected  success  a  new  step  in  the 
evolution  of  secret  politics  developed.  Hitherto  it  had  been 
the  idea  of  both  the  secret  orders  to  await  quietly  the  action 
of  the  older  parties  in  local  politics,  and  then,  after  the  party 
action  had  made  tickets,  to  endorse  or  condemn  the  various 
nominees.  The  original  plan  of  organized  nativism  was  to  act 

1  Herald,  1854,  October  30,  p.  I. 
1  Executive  records  of  O.  U.  A. 


I-  OCA  L  NA  T2  VISM  IN  NE  W  YORK  CITY  2O $ 

as  a  monitor  of  the  old  parties  by  using  the  balance  of  power. 
Now,  finding  themselves  possessed  of  unaccustomed  strength, 
the  leaders  of  nativism  took  up  a  new  plan.  They  contem- 
plated taking  the  initiative  themselves.  They  would  make 
their  nominations  in  the  secret  societies,  and  then  use  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  older  parties  to  bring  these  nominations  before 
the  world.  By  the  close  of  August  the  daily  press  had  learned 
that  Barker  and  other  leaders  of  the  Know-Nothings  were 
working  to  secure  secret  nominations,  which  were  to  be  rati- 
fied by  the  Whig  city  convention,  packed  with  Know-Nothings 
for  that  special  purpose.1  Barker  desired  the  mayoralty.  The 
nativist  vote  was  in  August  estimated  at  8,000  to  10,000,*  suf- 
ficient under  the  circumstances  to  elect  whichever  party  nomi- 
nee it  might  choose  to  endorse.3  If,  therefore,  a  Know-Noth- 
ing  nominee  could  be  foisted  upon  any  of  the  evenly-balanced 
party  groups,  he  was  certain  of  election.  The  matter  was  com- 
plicated, too,  with  state  politics,  for  there  was  a  scheme  on  foot 
by  which  the  nativists  and  Silver-Gray  Whigs  were  to  capture 
the  Whig  state  convention,  and  to  that  end  the  nativists  in 
New  York  city  must  control  the  Whig  primaries.  To  meet 
this  danger  of  nativist  domination  the  older  party  managers 
bestirred  themselves.  At  the  Democratic  primaries,  which 
came  first,  the  Know-Nothing  influence  was  noticeable,  but 
not  threatening.  At  the  Whig  primaries  of  September  1 2th 
the  Know-Nothings,  aided  by  the  O.  U.  A.,  triumphantly  se- 
lected delegates  to  their  liking.  So  confident  had  the  nativist 
movement  become  that  the  O.  U.  A.  Executive  Convention  of 
September  6th  directed  its  members  to  work  to  give  Thomas 
R.  Whitney  the  Whig  nomination  for  governor.  When,  after 
the  Whig  primaries,  it  was  learned  that  nativism  had  failed  of 
success  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  the  Whitney  boom  at  once 
collapsed.  Closely  following  the  contest  at  the  primaries 

1  Herald,  1854,  August  29,  p.  4. 
1  Argus,  1854,  September  2,  p.  2. 
8  Tribune,  1854,  September  I,  p.  4. 


2o6  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [404 

came  the  nativist  fiasco  in  the  Whig  state  convention,  and 
then  the  nomination  of  a  Know-Nothing  state  ticket  by  the 
October  Grand  Council.  The  effect  of  these  events  was  again 
to  advance  the  nativists  a  step  in  evolution.  It  was  now 
felt  that  the  orders  in  New  York  city  need  not  even  struggle 
to  secure  control  of  the  mechanism  of  the  older  parties,  but 
might  more  easily  take  responsibility  and  put  forth  nominees 
independently.  This  was  an  entire  abandonment  of  the  earlier 
policy  of  nativism. 

In  October  came  the  nominations  of  local  tickets  by  the  va- 
rious parties  and  movements  in  city  politics.  The  plans  of  the 
opponents  of  nativism  now  began  to  show  themselves.  On 
every  hand  the  strength  of  nativist  sentiment  was  recog- 
nized, and  concessions  were  made  to  it.  At  the  same  time 
the  managers  of  the  older  parties  showed  no  intention  of 
adopting  alliance  with  the  ambitious  clique  at  whose  head 
stood  the  Know-Nothing  grand-president.  The  two  factions 
of  the  divided  Democracy  united  locally.  It  was  clear  enough 
that  unless  a  fusion  were  made  the  party  would  lose  the  city 
patronage,  and  so  the  fusion  took  place.  On  October  Qth  the 
two  factions  united  on  a  mayoralty  candidate  in  the  person  of 
Fernando  Wood,  member  of  the  Know-Nothing  Order  and 
one  of  its  city  committee.  The  Democracy  thus  paid  tribute 
to  the  nativist  idea.  On  October  loth  the  Whig  city  conven- 
tion was  held,  and  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  another  mem- 
ber of  the  secret  order,  John  J.  Herrick.  The  Whig  Party 
also  paid  its  tribute  to  the  newer  movement  by  this  act.  The 
nativist  idea  was  now  triumphant  in  New  York  city.  Both  of 
the  older  parties  bowed  low  before  it.  There  was  a  difference, 
however,  between  the  nativist  idea  and  the  nativist  organiza- 
tion, and,  while  the  former  had  won  its  fight,  the  latter  still 
had  before  it  a  battle  for  supremacy.  The  nominations  of 
Wood  and  Herrick  were  of  no  advantage  to  the  Barker  clique, 
who  controlled  the  Know-Nothing  Order,  and  their  plans  were 
not  abandoned.  The  temperance  convention,  manipulated  by 


405]  LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  2O/ 

nativists,1  met  on  October  1 3th,  and  brought  James  W.  Barker 
before  the  public  as  its  nominee.  The  Executive  Convention 
of  the  O.  U.  A.  followed,  on  October  i6th,  with  a  secret  ticket 
headed  by  Barker's  name.  Then,  on  October  iQth,  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  Know-Nothings  completed  the  work  by 
also  selecting  a  secret  ticket  with  Barker  as  chief  member.2 
The  contest  for  the  mayoralty  now  lay  between  the  Know- 
Nothings  and  the  united  Democracy.  In  the  short  campaign 
that  followed  the  nominations  the  ties  that  bound  men  to- 
gether as  Whigs  or  Democrats  dissolved  under  the  pressure  of 
new  issues.  Each  nominee  on  the  tickets  of  the  older  parties 
found  it  to  his  interest  to  seek  support  from  the  adherents  of 
one  or  more  of  the  organized  movements.  The  result  was  a 
marvelous  criss-cross  of  influences,  which  divided  the  former 
compactness  of  the  older  groups  into  subdivisions  on  new 
lines  of  cleavage.  Party  tickets  lost  all  unity  of  meaning  or 
purpose.  They  were  mere  lists  of  office-seekers,  each  one  of 
whom  represented  certain  issues  or  certain  cliques.  State 
politics  also  intruded  into  the  local  canvass  with  suggestions 
as  to  the  advantages  of  this  or  that  choice. 

In  this  scramble  for  advantage  the  nativist  ticket,  like  the 
others,  lost  much  of  its  identity.  Three  nominees,  Barker, 
Ebling  and  Taylor,  were  grand  officers  of  the  Know- Nothing 
Order,  and  were  looked  upon  as  really  representative  of  nativ- 
ism,  but  the  other  five  nominees  were  more  closely  attached 
to  the  older  party  systems.  The  chief  fight  was  over  Barker's 
name.  All  the  bitterness  of  the  city  campaign  was  over  the 
mayoralty.  Despite  the  splendid  service  which  Barker  had 
rendered  to  the  nativist  movement,  he  had  his  opponents  even 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Order  which  he  led.  One  ward  council  re- 

1  Post,  1854,  October  31,  p.  2. 

•Mayor,  James  W.  Barker;  Recorder,  John  H.  White;  Judge,  Sidney  H. 
Stuart;  Surrogate  (Alfred  Mclntyre  withdrawn),  Alexander  W.  Bradford  ;  Reg- 
ister, John  J.  Doane ;  District  Attorney,  Chauncey  Schaffer  ;  Street  Commissioner, 
Joseph  E.  Ebling;  Alrashouse  Governor,  Joseph  S.  Taylor. 


208  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [406 

fused  to  endorse  his  nomination.  This  was  the  council  to 
which  belonged  Herrick,  the  Whig  nominee.1  In  other  coun- 
cils the  opponents  of  the  Barker  clique  took  an  attitude  of  hos- 
tility somewhat  less  pronounced.  Barker  nevertheless  had  the 
great  mass  of  the  organized  nativists  behind  him  in  his  claim 
for  office.  It  was  hoped  that  he  might,  by  combining  the 
nativist  and  temperance  vote,  win  success.  Barker  had  been 
identified  with  the  temperance  movement  before  he  became 
prominent  in  nativism,  but  his  devotion  to  the  latter  issue  had 
weakened  his  hold  upon  the  former.  His  friends  had  man- 
aged to  keep  control  of  the  Temperance  City  Alliance,  and  to 
use  it  to  bring  him  out  as  a  candidate,  but  they  could  not 
keep  all  the  temperance  men  in  line,  and  a  considerable  seces- 
sion of  Temperance  Independents  took  place,  who  refused  to 
support  the  Alliance  ticket.  The  following  estimate  of 
Barker's  strength,  made  just  before  election  by  a  friendly 
journal,  shows  upon  what  elements  Barker  based  his  hopes.* 
The  estimate  figured  his  following  to  consist  of  u,ooo  mem- 
bers of  the  Know-Nothing  Order,  3,000  members  of  the 
O.  U.  A.,  who  were  not  Know-Nothings,  2,800  Protestant  Irish 
members  of  the  A.  P.  A.,  who  were  not  Know-Nothings,  2,500 
temperance  men,  not  Know-Nothings,  making  a  total  of  19,300 
votes.  Barker  actually  polled  18,547  votes,  and  the  foregoing 
estimate  was  probably  not  far  wrong.  The  effort  of  the 
Whigs  to  injure  Barker's  chances  by  nominating  the  Know- 
Nothing  Herrick  was  soon  proven  a  failure,  and  the  Whig 
ticket  fell  into  the  background.  The  municipal -reform  move- 
ment drew  most  of  the  anti-nativist  Whigs  to  its  support,  and 
the  reform  ticket  threatened  serious  rivalry.  The  real  danger 
to  Barker,  however,  was  from  the  united  Democracy,  now 
desperately  struggling  to  keep  its  grasp  upon  the  city 
patronage. 

The  campaign  work    of  the   nativist   managers  was  done 

1  Courier -Enquirer,  1854,  November  2,  p.  2. 
1  Ibid. 


407]  LOCAL  NATIVJSM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  209 

quietly  under  the  cloak  of  council  secrecy.  There  were  no 
parades,  no  press  arguments,  no  ostentatious  efforts  at  vote 
winning.  The  existence  of  a  nativist  ticket  could  not  be  kept 
secret,  and  no  effort  to  that  end  was  made.  For  two  weeks  be- 
fore election  the  Know-Nothing  nominees  were  regularly  adver- 
tised in  the  local  press  under  the  caption  of"  People's  Ticket."1 
Beyond  this,  however,  the  open  work  did  not  go  to  any 
extent.  The  support  of  Barker  by  the  Protestant  Irish  is  an 
interesting  feature  of  the  time.2  It  is  another  instance  of  the 
fact  that  nativism,  though  nominally  opposed  to  all  foreigners, 
was  nevertheless  tolerant  of  Protestant  foreigners,  and  received 
continued  aid  from  them.  Barker  himself  was  a  member  of 
an  A.  P.  A.  lodge. 

Election  day  came  on  November  7th.  The  nativists  went 
to  the  polls  quietly,  but  mustered  their  forces  with  the  precise- 
ness  of  developed  discipline,  thanks  to  the  newly  created  ma- 
chinery of  the  Know-Nothing  city  committee.  Such  was  the 
complexity  of  local  tickets  at  this  election,  that  no  very  certain 
figures  as  to  political  groups  can  be  made,  but  the  official 
canvass  indicates  the  following  approximate  strength  of  the 
various  elements  in  the  contest : 3 

Nativist  movement about  13,520  votes. 

City-reform  movement about  11,430  votes. 

Soft-Shell  Democrats about  12,160  votes. 

Hard-Shell  Democrats about    9,380  votes. 

Whig  Party about    7,300  votes. 

Agrarian  movement about    3,020  votes. 

Temperance  (Alliance)  movement about    1,920  votes. 

Temperance  (Independent)  movement ....  about     1,380  votes. 

The  knowledge  that  a  heavy  vote  was  being  polled  for  Bar- 
ker made  the  nativists  very  sanguine  of  success  by  election 
night.  The  first  returns  seemed  to  show  his  election,  and  the 

1  Times,  1854,  October  27,  p.  5. 

*  Courier-Enquirer,  1854,  November  4,  p.  2. 

'Official  city  canvass  in  Times,  1854,  December  5. 


2IO  POLITICAL  NAT IV ISM  [408 

rejoicings  over  that  event  mingled  with  the  popular  joy  over 
the  supposed  success  of  the  Know-Nothing  state  ticket.  Later 
returns,  however,  told  a  different  tale.  Wood  appeared  to  be 
elected  by  a  very  narrow  plurality.  The  election  of  four  of 
the  nativist  nominees  did  not  appease  the  wrath  of  the  Know- 
ings over  the  result  on  the  mayoralty.  At  once  the  word 
was  passed  around  that  Barker  had  been  counted  out  by  fraud, 
and  on  the  evening  of  November  Qth  an  immense  indignation 
meeting  took  place  at  City  Hall  Park.  A  committee  was  here 
appointed  to  investigate  the  matter.  Five  days  later  a  second 
mass-meeting  heard  a  report  of  progress  from  the  committee. 
Then,  while  the  county  canvass  slowly  dragged  along,  the 
nativist  committee  appeared  before  the  canvassing  board  and 
presented  evidence  of  alleged  fraud  against  Barker's  vote ;  but 
their  mission  was  vain.  The  board  refused  to  go  behind  the 
returns,  and  the  law  was  such  that  there  was  no  alternative 
but  submission.  Wood,  therefore,  took  his  seat  with  full  legal 
title,  but  the  fairness  of  the  count  which  made  him  mayor  re- 
mained a  matter  upon  which  opinions  differed. 

With  the  final  decision  in  favor  of  Wood  the  local  campaign 
of  1854  was  ended  and  popular  politics  were  laid  aside  until 
the  spring  should  bring  round  the  beginning  of  new  contests. 
In  the  interval  nativism  stirred  itself  in  the  city  government 
with  efforts  to  secure  the  discharge  of  foreign-born  employees 
of  the  almshouse  and  police  service,  but  this  plan  failed. 
Outside  of  civic  affairs  nativism  had  little  to  do  except  attend 
the  regular  meetings  of  its  secret  lodges  and  swell  the  annual 
parade  on  February  22d.  The  warfare  over,  street  sermons 
had  ceased.  The  Irish  element  had  yielded  to  the  inevitable 
and  accepted  the  existence  of  nativist  sentiment  as  a  fact. 
Just  once  during  the  winter  of  1854-55  was  there  a  hint  of 
racial  conflict  again.  A  feud  among  the  cliques  of  the 
rougher  element  resulted  in  the  killing  of  the  pugilist  Poole 
early  in  March.  Because  some  Irish  roughs  were  concerned 
jn  the  affair,  the  friends  of  Poole  took  opportunity  to  rouse 


409]  LOCAL  NA  JIVISM  IN  NEW  1 ORK  CITY  2 1 1 

race- feeling  on  the  subject  and  there  were  threats  of  retalia- 
tion.1 On  St.  Patrick's  day,  which  came  a  few  days  after  the 
murder,  the  city  authorities  thought  it  advisable  to  keep  the 
militia  at  their  armories  ready  for  service.2  The  day  passed 
without  riot  and  in  a  little  time  the  feeling  died  away  again. 
The  incident  showed  that  the  force  of  nativist  antipathies  was 
not  yet  spent. 

With  the  spring  of  1855  came  the  usual  preparations  for  the 
fall  elections.  Organized  nativism  was  still  growing  and  the 
Barker  clique  still  directed  its  political  fortunes.  During  the 
latter  part  of  the  winter  the  clique  had  been  reaching  out  for 
more  power  and  had  won  it.  In  the  fall  of  1854  there  had  been 
only  two  effective  political  societies  in  New  York,  the  Know- 
Nothing  Order  and  the  O.  U.  A.,  but  during  the  winter  the 
accessions  to  nativism  raised  into  importance  the  hitherto 
petty  societies  of  the  American  Star  Order  and  the  Allen- 
branch  Know-Nothings.  It  was  useless  for  the  Barker  clique 
to  seek  power  in  the  Allen  branch,  for  that  was  outspokenly 
antagonistic.  In  the  American  Star  they  were  more  fortunate. 
The  election  of  Jacob  B.  Bacon  to  be  grand-president  of  that 
society  brought  about  a  re-organization  of  it  in  March,  1855, 
into  a  form  which  placed  it  in  control  of  the  Barker  clique. 
Its  members  now  began  to  be  known  as  "  Templars."  About 
the  same  time  a  similar  change  was  agitated  in  the  political 
system  of  the  O.  U.  A.  and  finally  accomplished.  Coincidently 
there  appear  in  the  O.  U.  A.  two  factions  respectively  friendly 
and  hostile  to  the  Barker  clique.  The  inference  seems  fair 
that  the  Barker  clique  was  seeking  to  capture  the  O.  U.  A. 
executive  system  also.  Up  to  this  time  the  local  nativist 
movement  was  united  in  sentiment  and  action.  From  the 
beginning  of  1855  there  had  begun  to  appear  a  faint  line  of 
cleavage  on  the  slavery  issue,  but  in  the  spring  of  1855  the 
cleavage  was  not  distinct  enough  to  threaten  the  unity  of  the 

1  Herald,  1855,  March  II,  p.  I. 
•  Times,  1855,  March  19,  p.  4. 


212  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [450 

movement.  The  issue  was  forced  upon  the  Know-Nothing 
Order  by  the  adoption  of  the  Cincinnati  ritual  in  November, 
1854,  with  its  new  third-degree  oath.  The  acceptance  of  that 
ritual  in  New  York  in  January  was  followed  by  some  with- 
drawals of  members,1  but  in  spite  of  this  the  Know  Nothing 
managers  kept  their  forces  well  in  hand  so  that  the  rift  was  not 
apparent.  In  May,  with  practically  a  united  sentiment  behind 
them,  they  began  to  draw  the  nativist  secret  societies  of  New 
York  city  into  a  formal  confederation  for  unity  of  political 
action.  The  scheme  contemplated  a  representative  city  con- 
vention composed  of  delegates  from  each  one  of  the  nativist 
societies.  The  convention  was  to  act  by  approval  of  local 
tickets  and  to  co-ordinate  all  the  societies  in  support  of  such 
nominees  as  might  be  so  approved.  The  adoption  of  this 
plan  would,  of  course,  be  a  step  toward  creating  a  distinct 
American  Party,  including  all  the  nativist  societies,  but  not 
superseding  any  of  them.  A  temporary  convention  held  this 
project  under  advisement  at  repeated  sessions  in  May,  and 
finally  on  June  1st  it  appointed  a  committee  headed  by  James 
W.  Barker,  to  carry  out  the  plan  by  organizing  a  new  conven- 
tion of  the  secret  orders  on  June  I3th.2 

At  this  time  organized  nativism  was  really  the  only  political 
force  in  the  local  field  which  was  both  strong  in  numbers  and 
united  in  feeling.  The  older  parties  were  both  divided.  The 
Democracy,  after  successfully  placing  Fernando  Wood  in  the 
mayor's  chair,  had  relapsed  into  its  former  duality  and  now 
sullenly  watched  with  unfriendly  eye  the  vigor  of  nativism. 
The  local  Whig  Party,  after  long  preserving  outward  unity 
despite  its  internal  dissensions,  finally,  in  May,  also  split  in  two 
parts,  respectively  for  and  against  Seward.3  The  Know- 
Nothing  Order  secretly  aided  this  division.4  The  prospects 

1  Courier- Enquirer,  1855,  March  18,  p.  2. 
1  Herald,  1855,  June  2,  p.  4. 

3  Herald,  1855,  Ma7  25»  P-  4- 

4  Times,  1855,  May  31,  p.  4;  June  n,  p.  I. 


4i  r]  LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  213 

of  the  new  nativist  political  confederation  were  therefore  of 
the  best.  On  June  1 3th  the  convention  of  delegates  met  with 
power  to  act  as  a  central  body.  The  Know- Nothing  Order, 
as  the  dominant  group  in  nativism,  seems  to  have  led  in  carry- 
ing out  this  new  effort.  The  O.  U.  A.  probably  sent  delegates 
also,1  but  there  was  some  opposition  in  the  Order  to  co- 
operation with  the  Know-Nothings.  Grand  Sachem  Butler 
declared  officially,  but  ambiguously,  that  "while  secrecy  in 
council  is  just  and  commendable,  mystery  is  ever  to  be  con- 
demned," and  advised  that  the  O.  U.  A.  should  not  "  hold 
confederate  action  with  any  mysterious  body."2  On  July  2d 
the  Executive  Convention  endorsed  this  advice,  but  after  a 
running  fight  through  several  sessions  between  the  friends  and 
opponents  of  confederation,  the  friends  seem  to  have  prevailed. 
The  executive  minutes  do  not  give  the  reasons  for  this  oppo- 
sition. While  this  struggle  was  going  on  the  American  con- 
vention did  its  work  and  launched  the  American  Party.  The 
new  party  was  not  coherent  or  centralized.  Practically  the 
organized  nativist  movement  had  merely  taken  a  new  name 
without  changing  itself  in  any  essential  point.  This  conven- 
tion was  only  a  symbol  of  harmony  of  action  and  singleness 
of  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  societies. 

Coincidently  with  the  apparent  unifying  of  the  local  nativist 
movement  an  element  of  disunion  at  this  time  appeared  in  the 
shape  of  the  slavery  issue.  During  the  preceding  winter  the 
followers  of  nativism  had  become  aware  that  an  unrelated  issue 
was  being  forced  upon  them.  This  came  about  when  the  Na- 
tional Council  adopted  the  Cincinnati  ritual.  At  that  time, 
however,  the  interest  in  the  slavery  question  seems  to  have 
been  so  small  that  nativism  felt  no  effects  from  the  intrusion. 
During  the  spring  of  1855  public  interest  began  to  turn  more 
closely  to  the  new  issue,  and  when,  in  June,  the  news  came  of 
the  new  pro-slavery  platform  imposed  upon  the  Know-Nothing 
Order  by  the  Council  at  Philadelphia,  it  became  plain  that  na- 

1  Executive  records,  O.  U.  A.  •  Gildenleeve  Coll. 


214 


POLITICAL  NA  TI  VIS  M 


tivists  would  not  all  accept  it  willingly.  Although  a  great 
mass-meeting,  on  June  i8th,  in  City  Hall  Park,  ratified  the 
new  platform,  its  action  did  not  bind  the  sentiment  of  individ- 
uals nor  close  discussion.  Anti-slavery  men  outside  the  Order 
stigmatized  Barker  as  a  pro-slavery  man  and  tool  of  the 
South.  The  slavery  issue,  thus  stimulated,  intruded  itself  into 
the  Know-Nothing  councils  and  joined  itself  with  the  growing 
opposition  to  the  Barker  clique.  Soon  there  were  two  factions 
in  New  York  city,  one  headed  by  James  W.  Barker  and  the 
other  by  Daniel  Ullman.1  The  shelving  of  the  Philadelphia 
platform  by  the  Grand  Council  of  the  state,  in  August,  1855, 
was  the  first  important  set-back  received  by  the  Barker  clique 
during  its  control  of  the  Order,  and  the  Ullman  faction  was 
instrumental  in  bringing  it  about. 

Before  its  defeat  in  the  August  Grand  Council  the  ruling 
clique  had  brought  about  the  nomination  of  a  local  ticket. 
The  nativists  still  exercised  influence  in  the  Whig  Party  in  the 
summer  of  1855,  and  the  New  York  Tribune,  which,  in  the 
middle  of  August,  still  considered  itself  a  Whig  organ,  ven- 
tured to  guess  that  they  would  try  to  use  the  Whig  conven- 
tions to  make  nominations.  The  nativists  used  their  own  ma- 
chinery instead.  On  August  2Oth  a  group  of  nine  distinct 
conventions  met  on  the  same  day  to  consider  different  offices 
and  select  nominees.  The  multiple  number  of  these  bodies 
was  arranged  to  allow  each  council  full  expression  for  the  dif- 
ferent places  involved.  The  completed  ticket  included  eleven 
Whigs  and  six  Democrats.2  While  these  nominees  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  personally  objectionable,  their  selection  was 

1  Tribune,  1855,  June  20,  p.  4. 

'Justices  Superior  Court,  Murray  Hoffman,  Lewis  B.  Woodruff;  Judge  Com- 
mon Pleas,  Alexander  Spalding  ;  Judge  Marine  Court,  Arba  K.  Maynard  ;  Sher- 
iff, Joseph  H.  Toone;  Clerk,  Robert  Beatty,  Jr.;  Comptroller,  John  S.  Giles; 
Corp'n  Counsel,  Louis  N.  Glover;  Almshouse-Governor,  Isaac  J.  Oliver;  Street 
Commis'r,  Joseph  S.  Taylor  ;  Repairs  Commis'r,  Joseph  Southworth  ;  Inspector, 
George  W.  Morton;  Coroners,  Frederick  W.  Perry,  Samuel  A.  Hills,  Cyrus 
Ramsay,  John  Witherell. 


413]  LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  21$ 

the  signal  for  revolt.  The  overthrow  of  the  Barker  policy  at 
the  August  session  of  the  Grand  Council  probably  aided  the 
change.  An  anonymous  pamphlet  now  appeared,  whose  ob- 
ject was  to  attack  the  ruling  clique  as  a  sort  of  secret  con- 
spiracy. In  a  curious  way,  however,  the  writer  of  the  pam- 
phlet awkwardly  confounded  the  personal  clique  which  he  at- 
tacked with  the  whole  society  of  the  "  Templars,"  to  which 
the  clique  belonged.  Forthwith  the  unlucky  Order  of  the 
American  Star,  whose  members  were  the  so-called  "  Tem- 
plars," became  an  object  of  attack.  The  Tribune  reprinted 
the  hostile  pamphlet  in  full,1  and  the  Times  aided  the  work  by 
an  exposition  of  the  American  Star  ritual.2  Editorial  articles 
were  written  to  show  that  the  Know-Nothing  Order  was  the 
victim  of  a  hitherto  unknown  higher  degree.  The  "  Templars  " 
were  represented  as  a  group  of  secret  conspirators,  whose 
sole  object  was  to  control  the  Know-Nothing  Order.  These 
attacks,  in  themselves,  were  absurdities,  but  they  were  patent 
signs  of  revolt  against  Barker  and  his  friends.  From  words 
the  enemies  of  the  clique  now  passed  to  deeds.  In  Washing- 
ton Chapter,  O.  U.  A.,  to  which  both  Barker  and  Bacon  be- 
longed, there  were  charges  laid  against  them  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  their  expulsion.3  In  the  O.  U.  A.  Executive  Con- 
vention vigorous  attacks  were  made  on  the  local  ticket  on  the 
ground  of  clique  dictation,  but  the  friends  of  the  ticket,  after  a 
contest,  forced  the  endorsement  of  it.  As  a  sequel  to  their 
success  came  repudiations  of  the  ticket  from  several  O.  U.  A. 
chapters.  It  was  about  this  time,  too,  that  the  hostile  element 
in  Barker's  own  Know-Nothing  council  moved  to  expel  his 
friends  from  membership.4  The  position  of  Barker  as  a  nativ- 
ist  leader  grew  more  and  more  precarious  as  the  campaign 
went  on. 

1  Tribune,  1855,  September  5,  p.  7. 

2  Times,  1855,  September  5,  p.  i. 

3  Times,  1855,  September  22,  p.  I ;  October  15,  p.  I. 

4  Times,  1855,  September  20,  p.  8;  October  17,  p.  i. 


2i6  POLITICAL  N ATI  VIS M  [4x4 

In  spite  of  internal  troubles  the  work  of  the  nativist  cam- 
paign went  on  energetically.  In  1855  the  Know-Nothings  af- 
fected far  less  of  secrecy  than  ever  before.  In  actual  fact  the 
secret  order  was  rapidly  losing  its  secret  character  by  the 
work  of  unfaithful  tongues  among  its  membership.  Many  of 
the  inner  details  of  Know- Nothing  politics  were  printed  in 
the  daily  press.  The  New  York  Times  for  many  successive 
weeks  regularly  reported  the  secret  sessions  of  one  of  the 
ward  councils,  to  show  the  flimsiness  of  the  mystery  which 
overhung  the  doings  of  the  society.1  When  it  is  considered 
that  some  of  the  ward  councils  had  over  a  thousand  members, 
it  is  perhaps  astonishing  that  there  could  be  even  a  pretense 
of  secrecy  in  New  York  city.  There  were  changes  going  on 
in  the  secret  organization.  There  was  a  new  current  setting 
away  from  old  methods,  old  leaders,  and  even  from  old  princi- 
ples. The  ward  politicians  who  now  crowded  into  the  secret 
councils  carried  on  there  the  same  sort  of  work  that  they  were 
accustomed  to  do  at  party  primaries.  The  managers  of  the 
nativist  campaign  adopted  the  regular  system  of  the  older 
party  campaigns.  The  secret  society  was  turning  into  an 
open  political  party.  In  the  city  campaign  of  1855  no  attempt 
was  made  to  keep  either  the  nativist  nominations  or  nativist 
membership  a  secret.  One  of  the  features  of  campaign  work 
was  a  system  of  political  clubs  in  every  ward  of  the  city, 
guided  by  a  central  body  called  the  National  Club.2  For  the 
first  time  in  New  York  state  the  secret  movement  used  public 
speeches  and  torch-light  processions  to  further  its  work.  To 
this  point  had  the  ultra-secret  Know-Nothings  come.3 

The  cohesion  of  parties  in  New  York  city  reached  its  low- 
est point  in  the  fall  of  1855.  At  least  sixteen  local  tickets, 

1  Times,  1855,  May  24,  31,  June  6,  n,  19,  26,  July  u,  19,  August  I,  3,  9,  10, 
15,  29,  September  12,  20,  26,  October  2. 

2  Herald,  1855,  October  6,  p.  I. 

•The  Allen-branch  Know  Nothings  kept  to  old  methods.  Their  ticket  is  in 
Tribune,  1855,  October  10,  p.  5. 


415]  L  OCAL  NA  TIVISM  IN  NE  W  YORK  CITY  2 1 7 

representing  various  parties  and  issues,  were  in  the  field,  and, 
as  in  1854,  there  was  a  scramble  of  office-seekers  for  multiple 
nominations.  Very  few  of  the  sixty-two  aspirants  who  were  seek- 
ing the  sixteen  local  offices  were  contented  with  being  named 
on  a  single  ticket,  and  the  result  was  a  marvelous  confusion.  In 
this  chaos  neither  the  Whig  nor  the  Republican  organization 
was  strong  enough  to  make  a  real  contest.  The  strongest  com- 
bination in  the  field  was  that  made  by  certain  candidates  who 
secured  the  backing  of  both  of  the  Democratic  factions.  Next 
to  them  came  those  men  who  were  backed  by  the  nativist  and 
the  temperance  movements  together.  When  election  day 
came  the  Democratic  combination  won  place  for  those  whom 
it  favored,  but  the  nativist  combination  was  strong  enough  to 
elect  half  of  the  American  ticket.  As  usual  the  Protestant 
Irish  and  German  vote  was  cast  in  support  of  the  American 
ticket  at  this  election.1  Evidently  the  nativist  movement  was 
still  gaining  strength  as  a  local  force  in  New  York  city.  For 
this  election  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  at  all  closely,  even  from 
the  official  canvass,  the  real  strength  of  the  various  political 
groups  that  were  in  the  field.  Out  of  the  sixteen  local  tickets, 
only  ten  seem  to  have  been  clearly  distinct  as  factors  in  the 
result.  Their  approximate  strength  was  as  follows  :2 

Nativist  movement about  18,770  votes. 

Soft-Shell  Democrats about  12,880  votes. 

Hard- Shell  Democrats about  11,280  votes. 

Whig  Party about    4,300  votes. 

Republican  movement about    3, 140  votes. 

City-reform  movement about    3,010  votes. 

German  Democrats about    1,910  votes. 

Half  Shell  Democrats about    1,390  votes. 

Temperance  movement about       900  votes. 

High-License  movement about       670  votes. 

The   intrigues  of  presidential   aspirants   succeeded   imme- 

1  Tribune,  1855,  November  17,  p.  5;    Times,  1855,  November  9,  pp.  2,  8. 
'Official  canvass  in  Times,  1855,  December  6,  p.  6. 


2i8  POLITICAL  N AT1VISM 

diately  upon  the  intrigues  of  local  nominees  and  took  up  the 
attention  of  the  Know-Nothing  councils.  George  Law,  the 
contractor,  familiarly  known  as  "  Live-Oak  George/'  was 
now  in  the  field  as  a  presidential  possibility.  An  intense  riv- 
alry between  the  partisans  of  Law  and  those  of  Fillmore  soon 
showed  itself.  James  W.  Barker  appeared  as  a  supporter  of 
Law,  and,  having  declined  in  advance  a  re-election  as  grand- 
president,  he  began  to  regain  something  of  his  old  popularity 
in  the  city  councils.  His  own  council,  nevertheless,  refused  to 
send  him  again  as  a  delegate  to  Grand  Council.1  The  work 
of  Law's  men  brought  good  results  in  the  city.  The  Live- 
Oak  clubs,  devoted  to  Law's  interest,  became  crowded  with 
the  younger  element,  and  at  the  district  conventions  held  to 
elect  delegates  to  the  National  Convention  the  Law  men  easily 
carried  the  city.  All  their  work,  however,  was  resultless. 
The  ambitions  of  Law  were  checked  by  the  nomination  of 
Fillmore  on  February  25,  1856.  When  the  news  came  of  the 
action  of  the  Convention  the  Americans  of  New  York  city 
promptly  accepted  the  new  ticket  and  swung  out  their  cam- 
paign banners.  An  immense  mass-meeting  on  the  2Qth  gave 
enthusiastic  welcome  to  Donelson,  the  vice-presidential  nom- 
inee. 

This  harmony  was  not  to  be  lasting,  for  under  the  surface 
of  events  the  opponents  of  Fillmore  at  once  began  their  work. 
Beginning  in  March  *  the  managers  of  Law's  canvass  re-gath- 
ered some  of  their  supporters  and  in  May  the  Law  men  and 
anti-slavery  men  worked  together  in  the  ward  councils  to  elect 
delegates  to  appear  for  them  in  the  anti-Fillmore  conventions 
that  had  been  called.3  As  a  consequence  of  this  work  new 
dissensions  sprang  into  being  in  the  Know-Nothing  Order. 
The  growth  of  the  anti-Fillmore  movement  steadily  developed 
ill-feeling  and  antagonism.  On  June  I2th,  when  the  anti- 

1  Times,  1856,  January  23,  p.  I. 

*  Herald,  1856,  March  22,  p.  8.  '  Herald,  1856,  May  II,  p.  I. 


417]  LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  219 

Fillmore  national  convention  met  at  New  York  the  delegates 
found  themselves  attended  by  an  angry  crowd  of  their  Know- 
Nothing  brethren.  The  latter  were  massed  about  the  conven- 
tion hall  and  their  derisive  yells  punctuated  from  time  to  time 
the  proceedings  of  the  session.  The  new  dividing  line  within 
the  Order  grew  more  distinct  than  ever  before  when  the  anti- 
Fillmore  national  ticket  was  made  with  Fremont's  name  upon 
it.  The  Fremont  men  captured  the  National  Club,  on  which 
the  local  party  depended  for  campaign  work,  but  at  another 
session  the  Fillmore  men  drove  the  club  president  into  the 
street  and  regained  control.1  The  ward  council  to  which  George 
Law  belonged  expelled  him  from  the  Order.2  These  incidents 
were  symptoms  of  the  new  alignment  that  was  going  on.  The 
effect  of  it  was  to  weed  out  the  anti-slavery  and  other  dis- 
affected members,  and  the  absorption  of  these  by  the  Republi- 
can movement  left  the  nativist  organization  composed  of  faithful 
Fillmore  men.  The  O.  U.  A.  joined  with  the  Know-Nothings 
in  support  of  Fillmore.3  The  secession  of  the  North  Americans 
from  the  Order  at  the  August  Grand  Council  received  no  sup- 
port from  New  York  city.  The  ward  councils  kept  their 
allegiance  to  the  regular  grand  body. 

In  September,  1856,  the  city  campaign  opened.  Fernando 
Wood,  by  shrewd  management,  succeeded  in  getting  a  re- 
nomination  from  the  regular  committees  of  the  united  Dem- 
ocracy, but  he  was  unpalatable  to  some  of  the  local  leaders  and 
his  selection  created  a  new  schism  in  his  party.  An  irregular 
faction  of  anti-Wood  Democrats  set  up  an  opposition  candi- 
date for  the  mayoralty.  This  split  gave  the  Americans  some 
hope  of  electing  a  mayor.  On  October  6th,  when  the  local 
conventions  were  held,  Isaac  O.  Barker,  president  of  the  board 
of  aldermen  and  cousin  of  James  W.  Barker,  received  a 
mayoralty  nomination  from  a  convention  over  which  the  latter 

1  Herald,  1856,  June  22,  p.  I ;   Times,  1856,  June  25,  p.  I. 

1  Times,  1856,  July  14,  p.  4.  '  Times,  1856,  August  2,  p.  2. 


220 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


presided,  and  headed  the  city  ticket.1  At  this  campaign  there 
were  fewer  political  groups  in  the  city  than  in  the  preceding 
year.  The  city  contest  turned  upon  the  question  of  Wood's 
fitness  for  office.  As  mayor  of  the  city  and  as  a  party  man 
Wood  had  shown  himself  ambitious,  clever  and  audacious. 
He  had  set  himself  the  task  of  controlling  the  local  Demo- 
cratic organization  and  had  done  his  work  with  enough  suc- 
cess to  create  some  bitter  enemies.  Barker,  the  American 
nominee,  was  experienced,  popular  and  respectable,  and  he 
attracted  support  to  the  nativist  ticket  by  his  character.  Un- 
fortunately for  those  who  opposed  Wood,  the  opposition  ele- 
ments could  not  be  brought  to  unite  upon  one  candidate. 
Each  political  group  stubbornly  held  to  its  own  man.  In 
consequence,  Wood  easily  carried  the  masses  with  him  and 
won  the  mayoralty  again.  Nativism  in  this  campaign  made 
little  pretence  at  secrecy.  It  had  almost  reached  a  likeness  to 
the  every-day  form  of  political  party.  It  had  its  clubs,  its 
banners,  its  processions  and  its  mass-meetings,  and  this  adop- 
tion of  new  ways  seemed  to  be  justified  by  the  poll  of  a  larger 
vote  than  it  had  ever  before  mustered  in  New  York  city.  In 
the  state  at  large  the  decline  of  the  nativist  movement  had 
begun  some  time  before  the  election  of  1856,  but  in  the  metrop- 
olis the  climax  was  at  the  election  of  that  year.  Until  that 
time  nativism  splendidly  held  its  own  in  the  city.  The  aver- 
ages for  the  local  contest  follow:1 

Democratic  Party    ............  about  32,480  votes. 

Nativist  party  ..............  about  23,470  votes. 

Republican  Party     ............  about  13,400  votes. 

Anti-Wood  Democrats   ..........  about    5,850  votes. 

City-reform  movement  ...........  about    3,640  votes. 

After  the  excitement  of  the  presidential  campaign  came  a 

1  Mayor,  Isaac  O.  Barker  ;  Judge,  John  H.  White  ;  Almshouse-Governor,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Pinckney  ;  Corp'n  Counsel,  Louis  N.  Glover. 

•Official  canvass  in  Tribune,  1856,  December  5,  p.  3.  In  this  election  there 
was  evidently  great  use  of  split  tickets,  but  apparently  without  organized  support. 


419]  LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  22I 

decline  of  popular  interest  in  politics.  The  winter  of 
1856-57  was  devoid  of  political  features.  The  decline  of  the 
Know-Nothing  Order  was  by  this  time  generally  recognized 
as  a  fact  and  politicians  began  to  turn  away  from  it.  By  the 
summer  of  1857  the  nativist  secret  societies  of  New  York 
city  were  going  to  pieces  rapidly.  Those  members  whose 
interest  in  the  ideas  of  nativism  was  only  superficial  began  to 
drop  away  from  the  movement  as  soon  as  the  tide  of  success 
turned.  The  secret  societies  lost  heavily  when  once  the 
change  became  apparent.  In  August,  1857,  the  Know-Noth- 
ing Order  lost  its  secret  system  by  the  action  of  the  Grand 
Council,  and  though  the  ward  councils  kept  their  organization 
in  the  face  of  the  change,  yet  about  half  their  membership  fell 
away.  The  O.  U.  A.  chapters  suffered  equally  by  the  deser 
tions  from  their  ranks.  The  lesser  societies  of  the  "  Templars  " 
and  Allen-branch  Know-Nothings  disappear  from  public 
notice.  The  fate  of  these  latter  societies  is  not  clear.  An 
organization  of  this  sort  dies  obscurely  as  a  rule.  First  there 
comes  a  loss  of  membership,  followed  by  retrenchment  of 
expenses  and  removal  to  cheap  quarters.  Then  the  society 
meetings  pass  out  of  public  notice  and  are  held  irregularly. 
Finally  a  knot  of  faithful  ones  yield  to  the  inevitable  and 
decree  their  own  dissolution.  It  is  uncertain  how  long  the 
"  Templars "  and  Allen  Know-Nothings  kept  their  societies 
alive,  but  it  is  clear  that  they  lost  all  political  importance  in 
1857. 

Amid  this  crash  of  organized  nativism  the  political  lead- 
ers of  the  movement  turned  toward  the  local  Republican 
Party  with  friendly  mien.  The  old  bitterness  between  the 
two  movements  was  now  passing  away.  The  masses  of 
organized  nativism  had  by  this  time  become  tinctured  by  anti- 
slavery  ideas  and  at  the  same  time  the  attitude  of  the  Repub- 
lican Party  had  been  affected  by  the  influx  of  recruits  from 
nativism.  After  the  losses  met  by  the  nativist  movement  in 
New  York  city,  its  only  hope  of  success  in  local  elections  was 


222  POLITICAL  NATIVISM 

to  exchange  support  with  Republicanism,  and  if  possible,  to 
overpower  the  Democracy  by  united  forces.  Late  in  Septem- 
ber this  plan  of  operation  was  advocated  by  a  mass-meeting  of 
nativists  in  one  of  the  city  wards  and  seemed  to  meet  general 
approval.1  The  practical  working  out  of  the  idea  was  slow. 
During  October  the  city  conventions  of  the  two  organizations 
held  frequent  sessions,  accompanied  by  negotiations  between 
those  interested.  Eventually,  by  a  series  of  mutual  accom- 
modations, a  union  ticket  was  perfected  bearing  the  names  of 
eight  nominees,  of  whom  each  party  furnished  four.2  Similar 
fusion  of  forces  took  place  in  the  legislative  districts  of  the 
city.  This  began  the  merging  of  the  American  and  Republi- 
can movements  in  New  York  city.  Never  again  after  1856 
did  the  nativists  enter  the  field  with  a  full  local  ticket  and 
depend  on  their  own  strength  alone.  Their  power  was  gone. 
In  1857  and  after,  their  leaders  sought  advantage  only  by  com- 
bination. The  fusion  of  1857  was  not  as  fortunate  in  results 
as  its  makers  had  hoped.  Its  whole  strength  proved  to  be 
only  21,700  votes,  far  less  than  the  vote  of  the  Democracy. 
The  fusion  failed  to  elect  a  single  nominee.  The  vote  of  the 
nativists  on  the  local  ticket  this  year  cannot  be  separated  from 
that  of  its  allies,  but  the  local  vote  on  the  several  state  tickets 
gives  a  clue  to  the  relative  strength  of  parties.  The  averages 
are  as  follows  : 3 

Democratic  Party about  37,680  votes. 

Republican  Party about  13,560  votes. 

Nativist  party about    8,480  votes. 

The  weakness  of  organized  nativism  was  now  apparent  to 
all.  In  1857  a  new  city  charter  went  into  effect  in  New  York 
which  separated  the  elections  of  city  officers  from  those  of 

1  Tribune,  1857,  September  28,  p.  6. 

a  Judge  Superior  Court,  Benjamin  W.  Bonney ;  Judge  Marine  Court,  William 
H.  Browne  ;  Recorder,  Alexander  Spaulding  ;  District  Attorney,  Daniel  Ullman. 
8  Official  county  canvass  in  Times,  1857,  November  26,  p.  7. 


42 1  ]  LOCAL  NATIVISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  22$ 

county  officers.  The  latter  continued  to  be  chosen  in  Novem- 
ber, while  city  officers  were  elected  a  month  later.  After  the 
November  election  of  1857  the  local  parties  at  once  turned  to 
the  mayoralty  contest.  The  Americans  on  November  Qth 
nominated  James  E.  Cooley  for  the  office  with  the  evident 
intention  of  forcing  his  nomination  upon  their  new  political 
allies.  This  plan  was  frustrated  by  the  appearance  of  a  strong 
independent  movement  which  put  forward  Daniel  F.  Tiemann 
as  nominee.  Tiemann  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
early  nativist  movement  of  1843—47.  When  the  Republicans 
joined  the  adherents  of  Tiemann  the  nativist  nominee,  Cooley, 
withdrew  from  the  race.  The  nativist  vote  was  thrown  for 
Tiemann  and  aided  his  election  on  a  small  plurality. 

The  break-down  of  organized  nativism  went  on  steadily  into 
the  year  1858.  The  Know-Nothing  Order  had  now  passed 
away.  The  ward  councils  remained,  but  they  were  non-secret 
political  clubs  exercising  the  powers  of  party  primaries.  The 
O.  U.  A.  tried  to  stem  the  tide  of  dissolution  by  an  attempted 
re-organization  of  its  executive  system,  but  the  effort  was  a 
vain  one.1  The  chapters  of  the  Order  were  now  breaking  up. 
On  October  nth  the  Grand  Executive  Convention  met  for 
the  last  time.  All  political  work  then  centered  in  the  grand 
executive  committee.  Other  nativist  secret  societies  in  New 
York  were  also  feeling  the  strain  of  reverses  caused  by  whole- 
sale withdrawals.  The  whole  fabric  of  organized  nativism 
was  giving  way.  In  the  local  elections  of  1858  the  coalition 
of  Americans  and  Republicans  was  brought  about  easily. 
The  two  party  conventions  delegated  powers  to  a  joint  com- 
mittee which  divided  the  offices  of  the  local  ticket  between  the 
parties.  Each  convention  then  nominated  men  for  the  places 
at  its  disposal.  The  Americans  had  four  offices  for  them- 
selves.2 This  year  the  fusion  ticket  gained  a  support  of  29,450 

1  Gildersleeve  Coll. 

a  Clerk,  W.  F.  Davidson ;  District  Attorney,  Rufus  F.  Andrews  ;  Coroners, 
Samuel  Hall,  J.  S.  Schofield. 


224 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


voters,  but  still  it  fell  short  of  the  Democratic  strength  and 
failed  to  put  its  men  into  office.  On  the  state  ticket  the  voters 
of  the  city  divided  as  follows  :  x 

Democratic  Party    ............  about  40,850  votes. 

Republican  Party    .....    .......  about  21,590  votes. 

Nativist  party  ..............  about    7,120  votes. 

Temperance  movement  ..........  about         50  votes. 

In  the  city  elections  of  December  the  Republican  and  Amer- 
ican fusion  fell  apart  on  one  office  and  the  American  nominee 
secured  a  personal  vote  of  12,290,  composed  of  various  ele- 
ments.2 At  this  election,  owing  to  a  split  in  the  Democracy, 
the  Republicans  were  for  the  first  time  able  to  carry  an  elec- 
tion in  New  York  city. 

The  story  of  local  nativism  grows  more  and  more  brief. 
In  due  time  the  campaign  of  1859  came  on  and  again  a  local 
fusion  of  Americans  and  Republicans  was  arranged,  which 
was  continued  in  the  city  election  of  December.  In  both 
elections  the  identity  of  the  nativist  forces  was  merged,  but 
the  canvass  on  state  ticket  showed  the  following  local  poll  for 
the  November  contest  :  3 

Democratic  Party    ............    about  34,300  votes. 

Republican  Party    ............    about  18,200  votes. 

Nativist  party  ..............    about    4,110  votes. 

Finally,  in  1860  came  the  memorable  presidential  contest 
with  its  re-arrangement  of  parties.  The  local  leaders  of  the 
American  movement  cast  in  their  lot  with  one  or  the  other  of 
the  great  national  organizations.  True  to  the  traditions  of  the 
American  movement,  many  of  them  joined  the  new  Union 
movement  with  Bell  and  Everett  as  their  national  ticket. 
This  was  mostly  true  of  the  element  led  by  Erastus  Brooks. 

1  County  canvass  in  Tribune,  1858,  December  3,  p.  3. 

1  Almshouse  -governor,  Frank  C.  Wagner. 

'Official  county  canvass  in  Tribune,  1859,  November  26,  p.  3. 


423]  LOCAL  NAT1VISM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  22$ 

Some  others  gravitated  to  the  Republican  Party.  It  was  noted 
by  the  daily  press  among  its  minor  political  items  of  the  cam- 
paign that  an  American  county  convention  met  on  October 
9th,  and  adjourned  without  making  nominations.1  In  a  very 
few  cases  there  seem  to  have  been  American  nominations  in 
assembly  districts.  Practically,  however,  the  American  Party 
was  blotted  out  in  the  excitement  of  the  national  campaign. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  American  Party  in  New  York 
city,  but  it  was  not  the  end  of  organized  nativism.  The 
remnants  of  the  O.  U.  A.  kept  a  feeble  hold  on  life  during  the 
stress  of  war  time,  but  ended  finally  in  1866,  having  had  no 
political  influence  since  1859.  Then,  about  1866,  a  new  na- 
tivist  organization  began  in  New  York  city.  It  was  a  secret 
society  modeled  after  the  Know-Nothing  Order,  and  headed 
by  James  W.  Barker,  the  former  Know-Nothing  leader.  At 
first  called  the  Order  of  the  American  Shield,  it  soon  took  the 
name  of  the  Order  of  the  American  Union.2  This  society 
planned  for  political  action,  but  was  never  effective  in  effort. 
It  lived  a  number  of  years,  but  failed  to  meet  popular  favor, 
although  it  is  said  to  have  found  foothold  in  sixteen  states. 
It  died  out  about  1880.  Then  the  new  American  Patriotic 
League  essayed  to  revive  nativism  and  failed.  It  gave  place 
to  the  more  recent  American  Protective  Association. 

1  Trilune,  1860,  October  n,  p.  8. 
1  Information  from  former  members. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,   1857-1860 

THE  campaign  of  1856  left  the  American  movement  in  New 
York  state  exhausted,  but  the  leaders  of  its  state  organization 
were  not  yet  ready  to  acknowledge  the  futility  of  further 
effort.  In  the  summer  of  1857  it  began  to  be  seen  that  the 
year  would  be  a  "  quiet "  one,  politically.  In  the  field  of 
state  politics  there  was  a  reaction  against  the  forced  sen- 
timent of  anti-slavery  and  also  the  usual  apathy  following  a 
presidential  contest.  The  re-arrangement  of  parties  which 
had  kept  the  political  world  in  a  ferment  for  four  years  past 
seemed  to  be  now  about  completed  also.  The  leaders  of 
political  nativism  viewed  these  new  and  unusual  conditions 
with  hopefulness.  It  was  thought  that  the  reaction  against 
anti-slavery  might  bring  former  Know-Nothings  back  to  the 
fold  from  which  they  had  strayed,  while  lack  of  interest  in 
politics  might  keep  from  the  polls  the  unorganized  voters  of 
the  opposition  forces.  Sanguine  nativists  dreamed  of  re-claim- 
ing the  membership  that  the  movement  had  lost  and  of  again 
making  a  grasp  at  the  control  of  the  state.  Less  sanguine 
and  more  practical  leaders  saw  that  much  could  be  gained  in 
any  event  by  a  large  poll  of  their  party  in  November,  even 
though  the  state  were  not  carried.  There  was  consequently 
no  real  opposition  to  the  plan  of  setting  up  an  American 
ticket  for  the  fall  election.  The  matter  was  thoroughly  talked 
over  by  the  delegates  at  the  August  Grand  Council. 

In  obedience  to  the  call  of  the  Grand  Council  a  state  con- 
vention met  at  Syracuse  on  September  15,  1857."  The  grow- 

1  Account  from  Herald  and  Times  reports. 
226  [424 


425]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,  1857-1860  22? 

ing  weakness  of  the  party  was  made  apparent  by  the  absence 
of  delegates.  A  full  convention  would  have  had  one  delegate 
from  each  assembly  district,  but  eighty-eight  districts  were  un- 
represented. The  convention  organized  with  Henry  B.  North- 
rup,  of  Washington,  as  president,  and  passed  at  once  to  the 
nomination  of  a  ticket.  Seven  state  offices  and  one  judgeship 
were  to  be  filled  by  the  people  at  the  coming  election.  The 
American  convention  named  candidates  for  each  of  these 
offices,  dividing  the  honors  evenly  between  former  Democrats 
and  former  Whigs.  The  completed  ticket  stood  as  follows  : 

Sec'y  of  State James  O.  Putnam,  of  Erie. 

Comptroller Nathaniel  S.  Benton,  of  Herkimer. 

Treasurer .  Lyman  Odell,  of  Livingston. 

Attorney- General Henry  H.  Ross,  of  Essex. 

Engineer Roswell  Graves,  of  Kings. 

Canal  Commis'r Goldsmith  Dennison,  of  Steuben. 

Prison  Inspector John  M.  Stevens,  of  Westchester. 

Judge,  C't  of  Appeals  ....  Hiram  Ketchum,  of  New  York. 

After  the  selection  of  a  ticket  came  the  adoption  of  resolu- 
tions as  to  the  political  ideas  of  the  American  organization. 
These  resolves  were  in  effect  a  regular  campaign  platform,  and 
this  marked  yet  another  step  in  the  tendency  of  the  Americans 
to  approach  the  common  party  model,  for  heretofore  the  making 
of  platforms  had  been  part  of  the  work  of  the  Grand  Council. 
The  present  convention  formulated  the  following  document  :x 

Returning  our  devout  and  humble  acknowledgement  to  Almighty  God  for  His 
protecting  care  and  fostering  mercies  in  the  past,  we  invoke  His  continued  assist- 
ance to  enable  us  to  act  the  part  of  good  citizens  and  patriots  by  a  watchful  over, 
sight  of  our  free  institutions  and  a  zealous  maintenance  of  our  civil  and  religious 
rights,  so  that  this  glorious  Union,  bequeathed  by  heroes  and  martyrs,  shall  forever 
remain  an  altar  to  Liberty  and  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Party  of  the  state  of  New  York  is  a  component 
part  of  the  great  family  of  American  freemen  who  believe  in  the  right  of  native- 
born  citizens  to  shape  the  policy,  administer  the  government  and  make  the  laws 
of  their  own  country;  who  furthermore,  cherish  the  Union  as  a  sacred  legacy  of 
the  past,  to  be  maintained  at  any  sacrifice ;  and  who,  finally,  in  the  spirit  of  their 

1Text  in  Times,  1857,  September  16,  p.  I. 


228  POLITICAL  N ATI V ISM  [426 

revolutionary  sires,  are  prepared  to  swear  upon  the  altar  of  Liberty  eternal  hostility 
to  every  form  of  oppression. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Party  of  the  state  of  New  York  demand  the  enact- 
ment of  a  registry  law  for  the  protection  of  legal  voters  and  the  purification  of  the 
elective  franchise  from  foreign  influence  controlled  by  unscrupulous  politicians. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Party  of  the  state  of  New  York  believe  that  the 
Bible  should  be  read  by  all  men  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  a  proper  text-book  in  our 
public  and  common  schools,  not  to  be  discarded  by  wise  men  who  would  inculcate 
the  sentiment  of  religious  freedom  in  the  youthful  mind. 

Resolved,  That  the  experience  of  the  past  five  years  has  conclusively  shown 
that  the  exemption  of  railroads  from  the  payment  of  tolls  by  the  legislature  of  1852 
was  unwise  and  impolitic,  and  that  while  the  people  of  the  state  are  suffering  from 
oppressive  taxation,  sound  policy  requires  the  re-imposition  of  the  tolls  on  such  of 
those  great  monopolies  as  come  in  competition  with  the  public  works  of  the  state. 

Resolved,  That  we  condemn  the  system  of  free  passes,  as  furnished  by  our  rail- 
road managers  to  our  legislative  and  judicial  officers,  and  we  recommend  to  the 
next  legislature  the  passage  of  a  law  making  it  a  penal  offense  for  railroad  corpora- 
tions to  offer,  or  for  state  officers  to  receive,  such  free  passes. 

Resolved,  That  we  express  our  entire  confidence  in  that  greatest  of  state  im- 
provements, the  Erie  canal,  believing  it  fully  competent,  if  properly  and  econom- 
ically managed,  to  pay  for  its  own  enlargement  and  discharge  any  debt  incurred 
for  its  benefit  without  resorting  to  direct  taxation ;  and  we  declare  ourselves  in 
favor  of  its  speedy  and  immediate  enlargement,  and  our  firm  determination  to 
resist  to  all  time  its  sale  or  any  other  disposition  of  it  whereby  it  will  pass  out  of 
the  control  of  the  state. 

Resolved,  That  the  unwise,  unjust  and  infamous  legislation  of  last  winter,  as 
shown  in  the  passage  of  laws  for  the  benefit  of  monied  monopolies  in  opposition 
to  the  direct  interests  of  the  people  ;  as  shown  in  nearly  exempting  the  railroads 
of  the  state  from  taxation  and  heaping  this  burden  upon  the  people ;  as  shown  by 
way  of  enormous  appropriations  of  money  for  the  benefit  of  party  favorites,  whereby 
the  taxes  of  the  state  are  increased  more  than  125  per  cent.,  the  treasury  empty 
and  the  state  bankrupt;  as  shown  in  the  control  which  an  avaricious  and  unscrup- 
ulous lobby,  headed  by  Republican  politicians,  exercised  over  the  legislature ;  as 
shown  in  sacrificing  the  canal  interests  and  canal  revenues  of  the  state  to  the  all- 
powerful  interests  of  railroad  corporations;  as  shown  in  not  passing  a  registry  law 
as  the  people  desired,  the  so-called  Republican  Party,  under  the  management  of 
an  Albany  Central  Regency,  has  forfeited  the  respect  of  honest  men  of  all  parties 
and  deserves  that  it  should  receive  the  entire  condemnation  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  the  mis-called  Democracy  of  the  day,  by  its  truckling  to  the 
powers  of  popery  and  foreignism  and  its  combination  with  Republicanism  to  defeat 
Americans,  and  thereby  subvert  the  wishes  of  the  people,  as  witnessed  in  the  com- 
bination in  the  Assembly  of  1856  in  the  election  of  the  speaker  and  in  the  more 
recent  act  by  which  their  leaders  struck  hands  with  a  renegade  American  to  strip 


427]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,  1837-1860  229 

the  Canal  Board  of  the  state  of  the  power  vested  in  them  by  the  people,  deserves 
and  should  receive  the  condemnation  of  all  men. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Americans  of  the  state  of  New  York,  fully  persuaded  of 
the  justness  of  our  cause  and  the  correctness  of  our  principles,  will  firmly  adhere 
in  every  emergency  and  under  all  circumstances  to  the  great  and  distinctive  doc- 
trines of  the  American  Party,  as  laid  down  in  the  Binghamton  and  Troy  platforms, 
repudiating  all  alliances  and  combinations  which  involve  any  sacrifices  of  princi- 
ples or  abandonment  of  those  demands  which  we  believe  so  vitally  important  to 
the  welfare  of  the  state  and  of  the  whole  country. 

The  foregoing  platform  was  adopted  by  vote  of  the 
American  state  convention,  and  then,  after  appointing  a  new 
state  committee,  the  delegates  adjourned.  The  new  com- 
mittee was  composed  of  Zopher  Mills,  of  New  York; 
Samuel  J.  Wilkin,  of  Orange;  Henry  Q.  Lansing  and  L. 
Sprague  Parsons,  of  Albany ;  John  N.  Wilder,  of  Saratoga ; 
N.  B.  Milliman,  of  Washington  ;  Richard  F.  Stevens,  of  Onon- 
daga  ;  J.  N.  Starin,  of  Cayuga  ;  Addison  M.  Smith,  of  Otsego, 
and  Lorenzo  Burrows,  of  Orleans.  The  action  of  the  Syra- 
cuse convention  placed  the  American  Party  in  an  attitude  of 
emphatic  independence.  The  denunciations  of  rival  parties  in 
its  platform  and  the  thoroughly  nativist  personnel  of  its  ticket 
made  clear  the  fact  that  its  spirit  was  not  broken  by  its  recent 
losses.  The  American  state  ticket  was  a  very  strong  one  per- 
sonally. Nearly  every  nominee  had  previously  held  public 
office  with  distinct  success.  Putnam,  of  Erie,  had  served  as 
state  senator.  Benton,  of  Herkimer,  had  been  secretary  of 
state.  All  the  others  on  the  ticket  were  well-known  men. 
The  opponents  of  the  party  had  no  fling  to  make  against  the 
nominees  that  it  set  up.  With  this  ticket  the  American  organ- 
ization entered  the  contest  of  1857. 

The  campaign  of  this  year  was  singularly  lifeless.  Each 
party  that  was  in  the  field  affected  to  have  issues,  but  the 
voters  did  not  respond  to  those  which  were  offered.  The  Re- 
publicans tried  to  use  the  slavery  issue,  but  with  indifferent 
success.  The  Democrats  raised  the  cry  of  mismanagement 
and  corruption  at  Albany,  but  failed  to  excite  universal  horror 


230  POLITICAL  NATIV1SM  [428 

thereat.  The  Americans  pointed  out  to  the  voters  the  short- 
comings of  both  their  rivals.  The  campaign  was  not  a  battle 
of  issues,  whatever  the  party  managers  might  claim.1  It  was 
rather  a  battle  of  organizations.  As  the  campaign  progressed 
it  became  evident  that  there  were  changes  going  on  among 
the  voters.  Many  Democrats  who  had  supported  Fremont 
and  other  Republican  nominees  in  1856  came  back  to  their 
old  party  in  1857.  The  similar  movement  from  the  Republi- 
can ranks  back  to  the  American  Party,  for  which  the  nativists 
had  looked,  did  not  take  place.  Instead  of  it  a  movement 
went  on  away  from  organized  nativism.  In  October  there 
came  reports  from  various  points  in  the  state  of  local  alliances 
between  the  American  and  Republican  forces.  In  New  York 
and  Kings  counties,  the  strongholds  of  nativist  activity,  a  fu- 
sion of  this  sort  took  place.  It  indicated  a  drawing  together 
of  the  parties,  and  was  significant.  It  showed  that  the  people 
could  no  longer  be  greatly  swayed  by  the  old  arguments  of 
nativism.  While  these  changes  were  quietly  going  on,  the 
public  as  a  whole  showed  little  real  interest  in  politics.  It  was 
still  so  when  election  day  came  around.  Everywhere  there 
was  apathy  and  indifference.  More  than  a  hundred  thousand 
voters  stayed  away  from  the  polls  altogether.  The  party 
averages  footed  up  as  follows  : 2 

Democratic  Party about  195,300  votes. 

Republican  Party ...    about  177,600  votes. 

Nativist  party about    66,300  votes. 

The  indifference  of  the  people  had  worked  a  great  change 
in  the  political  situation  by  this  showing.  While  the  Dem- 
ocracy gained  enough  votes  to  keep  its  average  equal  to  that 
of  1856,  the  Republican  vote  shrunk  one-third  and  the  Amer- 
ican Party,  still  more  unfortunate,  lost  one-half  of  its  poll.  In 
1856  the  nativist  movement  cast  22  per  cent,  of  the  total  vote, 

1  Times,  1857,  September  25,  p.  4. 

'Official  figures  in  Times,  1857,  November  25,  p.  3. 


429]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,  1857-1860  231 

but  in  1857  it  cast  only  1S  Per  cent.  Its  actual  weakness 
could  not  be  concealed  after  this  showing.  In  the  light  of  the 
November  canvass  its  whole  campaign  looked  like  a  mere 
piece  of  bravado.  It  no  longer  had  innate  strength.  Its  ulti- 
mate absorption  by  its  great  rivals  was  a  certainty.  The  only 
question  was  as  to  the  length  of  time  which  the  process  of 
absorption  would  occupy. 

After  the  futile  campaign  of  1857  the  nativist  party  sank 
out  of  public  notice  until  the  steady  round  of  time  roused  poli- 
ticians for  the  recurring  annual  struggle.  In  the  summer  of 
1858  the  politics  of  New  York  began  to  feel  the  first  faint 
hints  of  the  next  presidential  contest.  It  was  the  year  for 
election  of  the  governor,  and  the  governorship  was  prized  by 
party  managers  as  an  aid  to  party  strength.  More  than  that, 
the  election  would  be,  in  the  eyes  of  the  nation,  a  test  of  Re- 
publican strength  in  New  York.  The  gossips  of  the  political 
world  still  viewed  Senator  Seward  as  a  presidential  possibility, 
but  the  election  of  1857  did  not  augur  well  for  Republicanism 
in  New  York,  and  if  the  election  of  1858  did  no  better,  the 
prospects  of  Seward  would  indeed  be  clouded.1  Organized 
nativism  received  due  notice  in  connection  with  this  situation. 
The  fusion  of  Americans  and  Republicans  on  local  tickets  in 
several  counties  during  the  campaign  of  1857  nad  established 
a  vague  sort  of  kinship  between  the  parties.  No  one  dreamed 
now  of  the  American  Party  carrying  a  state  election  by  its  own 
efforts.  People  were  only  interested  to  know  whether  the 
Americans  would  join  the  Republican  Party  in  the  present 
campaign  or  whether  they  would  hold  back  for  another  year. 
The  implacable  hostility  that  nativism  had  exhibited  toward 
Senator  Seward  still  existed  to  a  very  considerable  extent.  If 
that  hostility  could  be  overcome  the  fusion  of  the  two  parties 
would  almost  certainly  carry  the  state.  If  it  could  not  be 
overcome  then  the  success  of  Republicanism  would  be  in 
doubt. 

1  Herald,  1858,  October  18,  p.  4. 


232  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [430 

The  annual  session  of  the  American  Grand  Council  was  held 
this  year  at  Albany.1  It  convened  August  24th,  with  fifty-seven 
counties  represented.  After  the  president's  address  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  made  Henry  B.  Northrup,  of  Washington,  pres- 
ident, Goldsmith  Dennison,  of  Steuben,  vice-president,  James 
W.  Husted,  of  Westchester,  secretary,  and  Richard  F.  Stevens, 
of  Onondaga,  treasurer  of  the  state  organization.  After  this 
election  the  matter  of  calling  the  annual  state  convention  came 
before  the  Council.  This  was  the  point  around  which  the  inter- 
est of  politicians  centered.  The  state  convention  of  the  Re- 
publican Party  had  already  been  called.  It  was  to  be  held  on 
September  8th  at  Syracuse.  A  delegate  in  the  Grand  Council 
moved  that  the  American  state  convention  be  held  at  Syra- 
cuse on  September  8th.  The  purpose  of  the  motion,  plainly 
enough,  was  to  pave  the  way  for  an  alliance  of  Americans  and 
Republicans  in  the  state  campaign.  The  debate  upon  the 
proposition  showed  the  existence  of  two  very  earnest  but 
opposing  groups  in  the  Grand  Council.  On  one  side  there 
was  a  friendliness  for  Republicanism  that  looked  with  satis- 
faction upon  the  prospect  of  a  close  political  alliance.  On  the 
other  side  was  an  equally  strong  dislike  for  the  party  whose 
leaders  had  so  long  been  the  outspoken  foes  of  nativism.  The 
debate  was  vigorous.  When  the  vote  was  taken  the  friends 
of  the  Republican  alliance  were  victorious  by  163  ayes  to  63 
noes.  This  ended  the  work  of  the  council  session. 

In  accordance  with  the  call  of  the  Grand  Council  the  con- 
vention met  at  Syracuse  on  September  8th.2  It  organized 
with  Daniel  Ullman  as  presiding  officer,  and  its  first  business 
was  formally  to  receive  a  committee  sent  to  it  by  the  Repub- 
lican convention.  The  Republicans  desired  a  conference  for 
the  purpose  of  agreeing  upon  a  common  platform.  It  was  the 
first  step  toward  merging  the  weaker  party  into  the  stronger. 
Before  the  day's  session  closed,  the  American  convention  had 

1  Account  from  Tribune  report. 
1  Account  from  Herald  report. 


43  I  ]  LA  TER  STA  TE  CAMPAIGNS,  1837-1860  233 

appointed  a  conference  committee  and  the  committee  had  be- 
gun its  work.  In  the  American  convention,  as  in  the  Grand 
Council  of  August,  there  were  two  factions  respectively  favor- 
ing and  opposing  the  new  alliance.  In  the  Republican  con- 
vention the  general  opinion  seems  to  have  favored  the  union 
of  the  parties.  But  while  the  assembled  delegates  were  thus 
friendly  to  a  fusion,  some  of  the  Republican  political  leaders 
were  not  so.  Their  objections  can  only  be  guessed  at,  for  no 
one  stood  forth  to  fight  the  plan  openly.  On  the  morning  of 
September  Qth,  when  the  two  conventions  again  took  up  their 
work,  each  body  received  a  report  from  its  conference  com- 
mittee giving  the  results  of  the  committees'  session.  The  con- 
ference had  drawn  up  a  platform  in  which  were  embodied  the 
anti-slavery  ideas  of  Republicanism,  together  with  a  slight  hint 
of  nativism.  In  deference  to  the  American  Party  the  anti- 
slavery  doctrines  had  been  softened  in  expression.  The 
nativist  portion  was  a  demand  that  one  year  should  intervene 
between  naturalization  and  voting.  When  this  new  platform 
was  presented  to  the  American  convention  the  delegates 
promptly  ratified  it  and  awaited  results.  In  the  Republican 
convention  the  new  platform  was  juggled  out  of  existence  by 
the  skill  of  some  hidden  wire-puller.  Instead  of  being  placed 
before  the  convention  it  was  sent  to  committee  and  returned 
in  a  revised  form  for  approval.  Then,  being  sent  to  the  Amer- 
ican convention  in  its  new  form,  it  was  greeted  with  an  indig- 
nant burst  of  anger  because  of  the  changes  which  had  been 
made.  It  was  now  too  late  to  go  back  over  the  ground  and 
correct  the  blunder.  Both  conventions  proceeded  at  once  to 
the  nomination  of  state  tickets.  The  Americans  put  in  nom- 
ination some  of  their  best  known  leaders,  and  so  effectually 
ended  all  chance  of  coalition.  The  ticket  follows : 

Governor      Lorenzo  Burrows,  of  Orleans. 

Lieut.-Governor Nathaniel  S.  Benton,  of  Herkimer. 

Canal  Commis'r James  R.  Thompson,  of  Genesee. 

Prison  Inspector William  A.  Russell,  of  Washington. 


234  POLITICAL  NAT1VISM  [432 

There  was  no  struggle  in  the  convention  for  these  places 
because  there  was  no  hope  whatever  of  election  to  office.  The 
tender  of  a  nomination  at  this  time  was  only  a  compliment. 
As  usual,  a  new  state  committee  was  created  before  adjourn- 
ment. Its  members  were  George  Briggs,  of  New  York, 
William  B.  Lewis,  of  Kings,  John  C.  Feltman,  of  Albany, 

Orville  Page,  of  St.  Lawrence,  N.  R.  Ford,  of ,  M.  T. 

B.  Fisher,  of ,  Jacob  B.  Faurot,  of  Ontario,  and  Gus- 

tavus  A.  Scroggs,  of  Erie. 

There  is  almost  nothing  to  say  of  the  campaign  of  1858  so 
far  as  the  nativist  movement  is  concerned.  The  American 
ticket  was  only  a  device  to  keep  the  party  from  going  to 
pieces.  There  was  no  effort  to  gain  new  adherents  for  the 
movement,  because  it  was  understood  that  such  effort  would 
be  vain.  The  most  that  could  be  hoped  was  that  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  American  Party  would  prevent  Republican  suc- 
cess. The  pride  of  the  nativist  leaders  was  much  hurt  by  the 
slight  put  upon  them  by  the  Republican  convention  in  Sep- 
tember. They  wished  Democratic  success  now,  rather  than 
Republican.  Their  work  toward  this  end  showed,  when  elec- 
tion day  came,  that  the  American  vote  could  still  be  held 
together  and  the  process  of  disintegration  checked,  if  not 
overcome.  There  was  still  too  much  vitality  in  the  party  to 
permit  the  utter  disappearance  which  its  opponents  had 
prophesied.  It  was  still  to  be  considered  as  a  factor  in  state 
politics,  in  spite  of  its  weakness.  In  actual  poll  the  Americans 
showed  very  slight  change  from  1857.  At  this  election  the 
voters  of  the  state  who  had  stayed  at  home  in  the  fall  of  1857 
showed  a  revival  of  interest  in  politics.  Both  of  the  greater 
parties  profited  by  the  revival,  but  the  Republicans  were  the 
most  favored  and  were  able  to  carry  the  state.  Following 
were  the  averages  on  the  state  canvass  :  * 

1  Official  footings  in  Tribune,  1858,  November  20,  p.  5. 


433]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS^  1837-1*60  235 

Republican  Party about  249,800  votes. 

Democratic  Party about  230,100  votes. 

Nativist  party about    61,800  votes. 

Temperance  movement about      2,500  votes. 

One  effect  of  this  campaign  upon  the  American  Party  was 
to  make  plainer  the  dividing  line  between  those  who  approved 
and  those  who  disliked  Republicanism.  The  side  which 
leaned  toward  the  Republicans  was  headed  by  Gustavus  A. 
Scroggs,  of  Buffalo,  while  the  more  staunch  adherents  of 
nativism  looked  to  Erastus  Brooks  for  leadership.  The  slight 
put  upon  the  Americans  at  Syracuse  set  back  the  friendship 
for  Republicanism,  but  as  the  months  passed  on  that  senti- 
ment seemed  to  recover  itself  somewhat.  When  the  regular 
annual  session  of  the  Grand  Council  came  again,  both  ele- 
ments of  the  party  were  on  the  ground.  The  Council  of  1859 
met  at  Geneva  on  August  23d.1  The  press  reported  140  dele- 
gates at  the  sitting,  but  very  little  detail  of  the  Council  session 
came  to  the  public.  New  officers  were  elected  and  a  state 
convention  called.  Also,  two  delegates,  Erastus  Brooks  and 
Lorenzo  Burrows,  were  chosen  to  attend  an  American  national 
convention,  if  one  were  held.  The  new  state  officers  were : 
President,  Gustavus  A.  Scroggs,  of  Erie ;  vice-president, 
Amos  H.  Prescott,  of  Herkimer,  and  secretary,  James  W. 
Husted,  of  Westchester.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  clash 
of  opposing  ideas  at  the  session. 

The  American  Party  had  its  last  campaign  in  1859.  On 
September  2ist  its  last  state  convention  met  at  Utica.2  Under 
the  presidency  of  Erastus  Brooks  it  adopted  an  address  and 
platform.  The  selection  of  a  state  ticket  was  sent  to  commit- 
tee for  recommendations.  The  state  organization  had  given 
up  the  idea  of  an  independent  state  ticket  a  year  previous,  but 
circumstances  had  forced  it  to  break  its  plans  at  that  time. 
This  year  there  were  no  obstacles  whatever  to  the  adoption  of 

1  Account  from  Herald  report. 
f  Account  from  Herald  reports. 


236  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [434 

a  new  policy.  In  its  weakness  the  nativist  organization  now 
proposed  to  go  back  to  the  old  system  used  in  the  infancy  of 
the  nativist  movement.  It  would  set  up  a  ticket  composed  of 
names  selected  from  the  tickets  of  the  greater  parties,  and  as 
a  "  balance-of-power  party  "  it  would  hold  its  huge  rivals  at  its 
mercy.  The  committee  on  state  ticket  did  its  work  on  this 
plan.  It  reported  back  to  the  convention  a  list  of  nine  nomi- 
nees for  state  offices,  five  of  whom  were  on  the  Republican 
ticket  and  four  on  the  Democratic.  None  of  them  were 
known  to  have  shown  any  special  favor  to  nativism  in  the 
past.  The  ticket  did  not,  in  fact,  represent  the  issues  of  the 
American  movement,  nor  did  the  committee  present  it  as  such. 
Like  the  state  ticket  of  1858  it  was  a  device  to  hold  together 
the  nativist  vote  and  win  such  prestige  for  the  organization  as 
it  might.  It  was  made  up  as  follows: 

Sec'y  of  State David  R.  Floyd-Jones,  of  Queens. 

Comptroller Robert  Denniston,  of  Orange. 

Treasurer Philip  Dorsheimer,  of  Erie. 

Attorney-General Charles  G.  Myers,  of  St.  Lawrence. 

Engineer Van  Rensselaer  Richmond,  of  Wayne. 

Canal  Commis'r William  L.  Skinner,  of  Herkimer. 

Prison  Inspector Noble  S.  Elderkin,  of  St.  Lawrence. 

Judge,  C't  of  Appeals    .    .    .  Henry  E.  Davies,  of  New  York. 
Clerk,  C't  of  Appeals  ....  Charles  Hughes,  of  Washington. 

When  presented  to  the  convention  there  was  a  vigorous  ob- 
jection to  the  name  of  Dorsheimer,  who  was  German  by  birth. 
Although  the  American  Party  had  abandoned  before  this  its 
wholesale  condemnation  of  all  persons  of  foreign  birth,  still  it 
was  rather  a  novel  step  for  it  to  present  an  alien  as  its  prefer- 
ence for  a  state  office.  Nevertheless  after  some  debate  the 
committee  ticket  was  adopted  by  the  convention.  Scroggs 
brought  this  about  by  his  championship  of  the  cause  of  his 
fellow-townsman.  After  the  ticket  the  convention  appointed 
the  usual  state  committee  and  adjourned.  The  new  committee 
was  composed  of  Erastus  Brooks,  Joseph  W.  Savage  and 


435]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,  1851-1860  237 

Frank  C.  Wagner  of  New  York,  L.  Sprague  Parsons,  Henry 
Lansing  and  G.  Y.  Johnson  of  Albany,  N.  B.  Lord  of  Jeffer- 
son, William  A.  Russel  of  Washington,  Harvey  Smith  of 
Rensselaer,  J.  Matteson  of  Oswego,  Orville  Page  of  St.  Law- 
rence, Richard  F.  Stevens  of  Onondaga,  M.  Strong  of  Monroe, 
Lorenzo  Burrows  of  Orleans,  Elam  R.  Jewett  of  Erie,  and  E. 
S.  Sweet  of  Tioga. 

In  the  campaign  that  followed,  the  American  Party  took  no 
considerable    part.     Its   wholly    artificial    character    was    so 
apparent  that  it  lost  heavily  among   those  who  had   till  now 
held  themselves  faithful  to   its  fortunes.     Some  of  its  leaders,, 
among  whom  was  the  state  secretary,  made  a  formal  protest 
against  the  mixed  ticket  and  circulated  the  protest  in   the 
party.1     In  the  O.  U.  A.  there  was  an  earnest  outcry  against 
the  nomination  of  Dorsheimer.     In  response  to  this  revolt  the 
American   state   committee    issued  a  circular  defending  the 
ticket.3     Five  reasons  were  alleged  for  the  nominations  :  first, 
the  wish  to  return  to  the  old  idea  of  holding  a  balance  of 
power  between  the  greater  parties;  second,  the  wish  to  secure 
good  men  for  office;  third,  the  idea  of  punishing  the  Repub- 
licans for  efforts  to  weaken  the  Canal  Board  when  it  was  under 
American   control ;    fourth,  the    hope   of  allaying   the   anti- 
slavery  agitation ;  fifth,  and  most  important  of  all,  the  frankly 
avowed  desire  to  break  down  the  calculations  of  the  greater 
parties    in   order   to   demonstrate   that   the   American    Party 
was  not  a  nonentity  in  politics.     The   circular,  between   the 
lines,  was   an    acknowledgment   that   the   sole   issue   of  the 
American  organization   was  that   of  its  own   existence.     Its 
break-up  during  the  coming  presidential  campaign  was  almost 
certain,  but  its  leaders  wished  to  maintain  their  hold  upon  it 
until  that  time  and  to  keep  it  apart  from  either  one  of  the  two 
great   parties.     The   party  continued  to  lose   heavily  in  the 

1  Herald,  1859,  September  29,  p.  6. 
'Text  in  Tribune,  1859,  October  5,  p.  5. 


238  POLITICAL  NATIV1SM  [436 

campaign  of  1859,  but  it  polled  a  vote  of  unusual  significance 
at  the  November  election.  The  two  great  parties  happened 
to  rival  each  other  closely  enough  in  their  vote  so  that  the 
dwindling  American  organization,  despite  its  losses,  actually 
held  the  balance  of  power.  With  one  exception  its  nominees 
were  elected  by  reason  of  its  endorsement  of  their  names. 
Thus  in  its  last  effort  at  a  state  campaign  the  party  scored  a 
success.  The  party  averages  follow :  * 

Republican  Party ". about  251,300  votes. 

Democratic  Party       about  227,600  votes. 

Nativist  party about    23,800  votes. 

The  politics  of  the  national  campaign  of  1860  began  very 
early  in  the  year  to  shape  themselves  around  the  central 
debate  on  the  great  sectional  issues.  The  leaders  of  the 
American  Party  in  New  York  unhesitatingly  took  sides  when 
occasion  required.  The  nomination  of  Bell  and  Everett  by  a 
national  convention  on  a  "  Constitutional  Union  "  ticket  en- 
listed the  prompt  support  of  some  of  the  best  known  nativists. 
When,  in  July,  1860,  a  state  convention  of  the  Union  move- 
ment was  held  at  Utica,  the  list  of  those  present  included 
Brooks,  Scroggs,  Burrows,  Prescott  and  several  other  well- 
known  Americans.2  At  that  convention  it  became  evident 
that  the  portion  of  the  party  which  accepted  the  leadership  of 
Brooks  would  support  the  new  movement.  Scroggs,  the  up- 
state leader,  also  had  his  following  in  the  party,  and  though  he 
appeared  at  the  Utica  convention  in  July,  it  was  yet  generally 
understood  that  his  sympathies  were  with  Republicanism. 
The  annual  Grand  Council  session  was  accordingly  looked 
forward  to  by  the  politicians  of  the  state  with  the  liveliest 
interest.  It  was  felt  that  the  nativist  party  would  be  manipu- 
lated by  its  leaders  so  as  to  aid  either  the  Bell  national  ticket 
or  the  Lincoln  national  ticket,  and  that  the  process  of  manipu- 

1  From  vote  as  given  in  Tribune  Almanac. 
9  Herald,  1860,  July  13,  p.  4. 


437]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,  1857-1860  239 

lation  would  not  be  without  interesting  features  for  the  world 
outside. 

In  the  matter  of  interest  the  anticipations  of  party  men  were 
not  disappointed.  When  the  Grand  Council  came  together 
on  August  28th  at  Schenectady  there  were  two  factions  keenly 
looking  for  advantage.1  President  Scroggs  and  Secretary 
Husted  favored  the  Lincoln  ticket,  while  Vice-President  Pres- 
cott  favored  the  Bell  ticket.  The  Republicans  thus  had  the 
official  machinery  of  the  session  in  their  hands  although  they 
were  outnumbered  on  the  floor  of  the  Council.  At  first  Pres- 
ident Scroggs  refused  to  announce  the  place  of  meeting  but  a 
squad  of  Bell  men  were  set  to  watch  his  every  motion,  lest  the 
Lincoln  men  should  quietly  open  the  Council  with  their  fellow- 
delegates  absent.  Under  this  scrutiny  the  president  yielded 
and  the  Council  was  formally  opened  with  both  factions  pres- 
ent. The  next  step  was  the  critical  one.  Scroggs  attempted 
to  appoint  the  usual  committee  on  credentials.  Since  this 
committee  would  have  power  to  bar  out  delegates  from  the 
session  its  make-up  was  important.  The  Bell  men  were  deter- 
mined that  Scroggs  should  not  name  the  committee,  and  his 
efforts  to  do  so  were  howled  down.  When  he  persisted  in  his 
effort  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  an  excited  mass  of  del- 
egates who  forced  him  to  yield  the  gavel  to  Vice-President 
Prescott,  known  to  be  a  Bell  man.  Scroggs  and  his  friends 
then  left  the  Council.  Under  Prescott's  leadership  the  re- 
mainder of  the  council  session  was  peaceful.  There  were  168 
delegates  at  this  last  session  of  the  Grand  Council.  They 
elected  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  in  the  customary  way, 
choosing  Amos  H.  Prescott,  of  Herkimer,  for  president,  Jesse 
C.  Dann,  of  Erie,  for  vice-president  and  William  D.  Murphy, 
of  Albany,  for  secretary.  Then  came  the  work  of  delivering 
the  votes  of  the  organization,  so  far  as  official  action  could  do 
it,  to  the  new  Union  movement  to  which  the  American  Party 
leaders  had  given  their  allegiance.  A  resolution  was  passed 

1  Account  of  Council  session  from  Herald  and  Tribune  reports. 


240  POLITICAL  NA7IVISM 

by  the  Council  endorsing  the  action  of  the  Union  movement  in 
naming  a  state  ticket  of  presidential  electors,  and  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  another  resolution  formally  pledging  the  support  of 
the  Council  to  Bell  and  Everett.  This  officially  merged  the 
nativist  movement  into  a  different  political  group.  But  while 
these  things  were  being  done  by  the  regular  Grand  Council 
the  bolters,  led  by  Scroggs,  had  no  mind  to  be  ignored  with- 
out protest.  They  gathered  together  in  another  place  and 
organized  themselves  into  a  rival  Grand  Council,  following  the 
regular  procedure  of  the  party.  They  elected  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year :  Gustavus  A.  Scroggs,  of  Erie,  to  be  president, 
A.  J.  H.  Duganne,  of  New  York,  to  be  vice-president  and 
James  W.  Husted,  of  Westchester,  to  be  secretary.  They 
passed  a  resolution  declaring  that  since  there  was  no  Amer- 
ican ticket  in  the  field,  either  state  or  national,  the  members  of 
the  party  should  be  free  "  to  vote  as  their  judgment  and  con- 
sciences may  dictate."  Then  they  named  a  new  state  com- 
mittee and  adjourned. 

Both  of  these  groups  of  delegates  realized  thoroughly  that  the 
organization  which  they  represented  was  at  its  end.  Many  peo- 
ple thought  that  for  the  past  three  years  it  had  been  kept  alive 
for  this  emergency.  Neither  one  of  the  rival  grand  councils 
provided  for  a  state  convention  to  follow,  though  both  bodies 
appointed  state  committees  as  had  been  the  custom.  The  reg- 
ular Grand  Council  gave  to  this  new  committee  power  to  call 
a  session  of  the  Council  at  such  future  time  as  it  might  fix. 
The  committee  was  composed  of  Erastus  Brooks,  L.  W.  Parks, 
Frank  C.  Wagner  and  George  Briggs,  all  of  New  York, 
L.  Sprague  Parsons,  S.  H.  Calhoun  and  C.  H.  Adams,  all  of 
Albany,  Harvey  Smith,  of  Rensselaer,  Abel  Smith,  of  Schen- 
ectady,  N.  B.  Lord,  of  Jefferson,  Richard  F.  Stevens,  of  Onon- 
daga,  M.  Strong,  of  Monroe,  Lorenzo  Burrows,  of  Orleans, 
Jesse  C.  Dann,  of  Erie,  Harlow  Hakes,  of  Steuben,  and  E.  B. 
Sweet,  of  Tioga.  The  naming  of  a  new  committee  was  at  the 
same  time  largely  a  pretence.  The  adjournment  of  the  two 


439]  LATER  STATE  CAMPAIGNS,  1857-1860  241 

grand  councils  was  the  final  end  of  the  old  Know-Nothing 
organization  in  New  York  state.  By  the  usual  custom  the 
Grand  Council  should  have  met  again  one  year  afterward  in 
August,  but  when  the  next  August  came  round  the  nation 
was  absorbed  in  war  and  there  was  no  room  in  popular 
thought  for  political  nativism.  The  nativist  party  in  New 
York  state  politics  ended  on  August  28,  1860. 


CHAPTER  XI 

ANALYSIS    OF    POLITICAL   NATIVISM 

IN  final  comment  upon  that  political  nativism  which  strug- 
gled for  recognition  during  the  quarter  century  from  1835  to 
1860  it  is  as  unfair  to  speak  with  entire  harshness  as  it  is 
difficult  to  speak  with  complete  sympathy.  As  an  issue  that 
failed  of  success  and  as  a  doctrine  from  which  the  American 
democracy  turned  away,  it  stands  condemned  by  its  own  fail- 
ure. Yet,  even  as  a  rejected  political  issue  it  has  an  import- 
ance in  history  as  one  of  the  great  forces  which  have  aided 
in  rounding  out  the  ideals  of  the  nation.  In  looking  back 
upon  nativism  and  its  efforts,  a  curiously  contradictory  feature 
suggests  itself.  From  the  modern  standpoint  its  aims  seem  to 
have  been  narrow,  prescriptive  and  un-American,  while  in 
their  day  thousands  of  earnest  men  deemed  them  to  be  most 
thoroughly  patriotic  and  truly  American  in  character.  The 
explanation  of  this  contradiction  gives  a  reason  for  the  study 
of  rejected  issues.  The  real  work  of  nativism  was  to  force 
public  opinion  to  a  judgment  upon  certain  propositions,  and  in 
so  doing  to  secure  a  decision  as  to  whether  or  not  the  ideas 
which  it  represented  were  entitled  to  be  considered  as  ''Amer- 
ican "  in  character.  Political  nativism  was  a  curiously  blun- 
dering effort  to  shape  public  opinion.  It  put  forth  views 
which  were  neither  soundly  logical  nor  consonant  with  the 
liberal  tendencies  of  American  society.  For  this  reason, 
largely,  they  did  not  succeed.  There  can  be  no  question  as  to 
the  sincerity  and  patriotism  of  the  men  who  forced  nativism 
into  the  field  as  a  political  issue.  They  believed  most  fer- 
vently that  the  influences  they  opposed  were  undermining  the 
242  [440 


44 1  ]  ANAL  YSIS  OF  POLITICAL  NA  TI VISM  243 

whole  structure  of  American  life.  If  these  men  were  narrow 
and  prescriptive  they  were  at  least  honestly  so.  If  they  were 
un-American,  it  was  because  the  public  consciousness  had 
not  revealed  itself  enough  to  teach  them  where  they  stood. 
It  was  the  judgment  of  the  people  upon  their  work  which 
eventually  decided  that  nativist  ideas  were  not  wholly  to  be 
accepted  as  really  American.  The  movement  of  nativism  had 
its  brief  hour  of  strength  ;  it  stirred  men's  minds  profoundly 
for  a  time  and  then  it  passed  away,  having  accomplished  little 
of  what  it  had  tried  to  do.  Yet,  as  it  disappeared,  it  left  be- 
hind it  a  deeper  insight  into  the  theory  of  American  life  and 
a  firmer  faith  in  American  institutions,  both  resulting  from 
its  agitation.  It  left  behind  it,  too,  more  definite  ideas  and 
broader  sympathies  to  solve  the  problems  connected  with  the 
coming  of  foreign  peoples  to  American  shores. 

Nativism  was  antagonistic  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
This  antagonism  was  its  most  cherished  feature.  The  Cath- 
olic church  in  the  United  States  had  then  a  membership  very 
largely  of  foreign  birth,  and  was  in  the  position  of  a  foreign 
institution  transplanted  to  American  soil.  In  some  states  it 
was  dominated  by  the  American  element,  but  in  New  York  it 
was  the  symbol  and  strength  of  foreign  influence.  There  it 
held  itself  aloof  from  too  close  contact  with  American 
life,  and  it  steadily  opposed  the  adoption  of  American  methods 
in  its  work.  It  organized  its  people  into  a  distinct  community 
and  it  encouraged  clannishness  based  upon  religion.  This 
aloofness  was  the  real  grievance  against  the  church  and  caused 
it  to  be  denounced  as  an  un-American  organization.  Had  the 
nativist  movement  placed  its  arguments  clearly  on  this  basis 
it  could  have  more  easily  defended  its  policy,  but  it  pre- 
ferred to  adopt  the  theory  of  papal  hostility  toward  America. 
This  latter  idea  came  from  the  Brutus  letters  of  1834,  whose 
theories  tinged  anti-Catholic  teachings  through  the  whole 
period  of  nativist  effort.  From  the  hints  given  them  by 
Brutus  the  nativist  agitators  learned  to  picture  the  Pope  as  an 


244  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [443 

ambitious  despot  longing  to  overthrow  republican  institutions. 
They  learned  to  portray  the  Roman  church  as  art  engine  of 
terrible  power,  directed  by  a  crafty  and  unscrupulous  priest- 
hood which  desired  the  subjection    of  a   free  people   to   its 
malevolent  sway.     All  this  could  hardly  be  else  than  the  ex- 
aggeration of  enmity,  but  still  it  was  used  by  nativism  because 
it  proved  effective  in  agitation.     At  the  time  when  nativism 
flourished,  the  American  people  were  not  yet  fully  convinced 
of  the  permanency  of  the  structure  they   had  raised.     The 
public  mind  was  distrustful  of  European  governments  and  was 
easily   played   upon  by   suggestions    of    foreign    conspiracy. 
This  made  the  cry  of  papal  hostility  a  useful  one.     There  was 
no  good  evidence  to  be  adduced  as  proof  of  the  statements 
made  against  the  papacy.     Search  was  made  for  proof,  but  it 
was   not    found.     The  best  argument    on    that  line  was  one 
which  started  with  evidence  that  Catholics  owed  obedience  to 
the  papal  throne,  then  proved  that  the  papal  curia  was  an  enemy 
of  republicanism  in  Europe,  and  finally  drew  inference  that 
the  papacy  must  be  an  enemy  of  republicanism  in  America 
also.     The  obedience  owed  by  American  Catholics  to  the  pap- 
acy was  a  matter  of  suspicion.    The  public  did  not  yet  fully  un- 
derstand the  dual  nature  of  the  papacy  as  a  civil  and  a  spiritual 
power,  and  thought  it  only  natural  that  a  sovereign  Pope  should 
mix  in  politics  wherever  he  had  spiritual  subjects.     This  agita- 
tion of  nativism  on  the  basis  of  papal  enmity  was  a  false  issue 
covering  up  the  real  one,  for  the  actual  offence  of  the  Catholic 
church  was  its  non -conformity  to  American  methods  of  church 
administration  and  popular  education.     These  were  the  points 
upon  which  nativism  attacked  the  church  specifically.     Keep- 
ing always  at  the  front  the  idea  of  papal  enmity,  the  theory  of 
nativist  attack  was  that  of  crippling  the  power  that  was  inim- 
ical to   America.      It   was   argued   that    if   church  property 
could  be  wrested  from  priestly  control,  if  religious  and  secu- 
lar education  could  be  entirely  separated  and  if  Catholic  in- 
fluence in  politics  could  be  broken  down,  then  the  power  of 


443]  ANALYSIS  OF  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  245 

the  Catholic  priesthood  would  be  less  dangerous.  It  was  the 
intention  to  force  American  methods  upon  the  church  system, 
making  it  conform  to  familiar  models.  The  nativist  attacks  on 
the  Roman  church  are  most  intelligible  when  interpreted  as 
efforts  to  enforce  conformity  on  points  where  church  work  is 
likely  to  touch  politics. 

In  the  matter  of  church  administration  the  nativists  wished 
to  force  lay  trustees  upon  the  church.  The  American  idea  of 
popular  control  of  public  institutions  had  been  carried  into 
the  workings  of  American  religious  bodies.  In  the  earlier 
days  of  the  American  Catholic  church  the  idea  of  lay  trustees 
was  voluntarily  adopted,  but  later  the  clergy  threw  its  influence 
against  the  idea  and  favored  the  episcopal  control  of  church 
property.  The  effort  of  the  nativists  was  to  re-instate  the  lay 
trustees  in  power.  Of  course  the  theory  of  attack  was  that  of 
limiting  the  power  of  the  papacy  in  America,  but  the  attack  was 
really  an  effort  to  enforce  conformity.  Nativism  did  not  fail  in 
its  effort  entirely.  Whether  it  was  right  or  wrong  in  demand- 
ing the  change  as  it  did,  is  perhaps  still  open  to  debate.  The 
question  as  to  lay  trustees  still  reappears  occasionally  as  a 
problem  in  church  administration.  It  is  certain  that  the 
change  demanded  by  nativism  was  not  undesirable  from  an 
American  standpoint.  The  only  question  is  as  to  the  propriety 
of  insisting  upon  it. 

In  the  matter  of  popular  education  the  nativists  steadily 
opposed  the  grant  of  public  money  to  aid  Catholic  schools, 
and  they  opposed  also  the  elimination  of  the  Bible  from  public 
school  exercises.  The  school  controversy  of  1840-42  in  New 
York  city  brought  a  minute  discussion  of  these  problems  in 
public  education,  but  after  all  had  been  said,  the  question  re- 
mained beclouded  by  the  fact  that  neither  side  could  agree 
with  the  other  on  the  proper  relationship  of  religious  and 
secular  education.  The  fact  was  that  the  Protestant  American 
people  had  distanced  the  Catholics  in  evolution  of  education. 
By  developing  the  Sunday-school  system  they  were  able  to 


246 


POLITICAL  NATIVISM 


separate  secular  from  religious  education  without  harming  the 
latter.  Catholics,  meanwhile,  were  dependent  upon  the  old 
parish-school  system  with  its  mingling  of  the  religious  and 
the  secular.  When,  therefore,  the  Catholics  demanded  school 
moneys  they  were  stopped  by  the  reminder  that  only  non- 
sectarian  schools  could  profit  by  public  aid.  The  nativist 
opposition  to  the  Catholic  views  of  school  matters  did  not  fail 
to  plead  as  excuse  the  aggressiveness  of  the  papacy.  Never- 
theless the  whole  question  of  school-money  turned  on  con- 
formity to  American  customs  in  education.  Time  has  ap- 
proved the  nativist  position  on  this  point.  The  matter  of 
Bible  reading  in  the  public  schools  became  a  feature  of  the 
school  controversy  when  cited  by  Catholics  as  evidence  that 
the  public  schools  were  not  as  wholly  unsectarian  as  their 
friends  claimed.  Protestant  churchmen  denied  that  any  use  of 
the  Bible  could  be  sectarian,  and  on  this  contention  nativism 
took  the  Protestant  side.  This  question,  too,  has  outlived 
political  nativism  and  shows  itself  yet  from  time  to  time.  It 
would  seem  now,  viewing  the  matter  broadly,  that  nativism 
was  wrong  on  this  point.  It  is  logical  that  separation  of 
religious  and  secular  work,  if  made  at  all,  should  be  complete. 
In  connection  with  school  matters  political  nativism  in  New 
York  never  called  for  the  abolition  of  church  schools.  Sev- 
eral Protestant  denominations  had  their  own  schools,  and  no 
one  questioned  the  right  of  Catholic  schools  to  exist.  It  was 
only  held  that  Catholic  church  schools,  like  the  Protestant 
schools,  should  be  self-supporting. 

In  the  matter  of  political  influence  the  nativists  attacked  the 
Catholic  church  by  efforts  to  keep  Catholics  out  of  public 
office.  Viewed  as  partisan  policy  this  idea  would  have  been 
proper  enough,  for  a  political  movement  must  necessarily 
block  the  acquirement  of  office  by  its  opponents  wherever 
possible.  Not  satisfied  with  this  reason,  however,  the  nativists 
based  their  proscription  upon  the  unproven  charge  of  Catholic 
hostility  toward  American  ideas,  and  here  they  placed  them- 


445]  ANALYSIS  OF  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  247 

selves  in  the  wrong.  American  opinion  has  never  sincerely 
approved  the  application  of  religious  tests  for  public  office. 
It  was  right  to  vote  down  a  Catholic  candidate  because  he 
might  favor  objectionable  issues,  but  it  was  wrong  to  vote  him 
down  for  no  reason  except  his  religious  affiliation.  The 
nativist  theory  of  this  attack  upon  the  church  was  again  that 
of  limiting  the  power  of  the  papacy.  Unlike  other  attacks, 
however,  this  was  hardly  an  effort  to  secure  conformity.  It 
was  more  of  a  prescriptive  measure  which  hid  the  feeling  of 
race-antagonism  that  underlaid  it.  It  was  an  excuse  for  dis- 
criminating at  the  polls  against  Irish  office-seekers. 

Altogether  the  nativist  efforts  against  the  Catholic  church 
were  very  well  calculated  to  diminish  ecclesiastical  power. 
Leaving  out  of  the  question  the  identity  of  the  church  against 
which  the  attacks  were  directed,  this  idea  cannot  be  called  un- 
American.  Before  the  period  of  nativism  there  was  a  diminu- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  power  in  the  Protestant  churches  by  in- 
fluences within  their  lines.  The  nativists  tried  to  effect  the 
same  end  in  the  Catholic  church  by  efforts  from  without. 
American  opinion  then  and  since  has  been  persistent  in  view- 
ing clerical  bodies  as  unsafe  guardians  of  the  people's  priv- 
ileges. The  trend  of  practice  has  been  away  from  clerical 
control  of  church  property,  of  popular  education  or  of  political 
work.  The  nativist  desire  to  enforce  conformity  with  Ameri- 
can practice  in  this  respect  is  not  to  be  wholly  condemned. 
The  warfare  of  political  nativism  against  the  church  was 
waged  solely  at  those  points  where  Catholic  methods  were 
opposed  to  the  American  social  and  political  ideas.  On  purely 
religious  matters  political  nativism  never  trespassed,  although 
the  fulminations  of  religious  preachers  and  writers  usually 
accompanied  its  activity.  Catholic  doctrines  in  religion  were 
viewed  with  indifference  by  nativists  at  the  same  time  that 
they  gave  closest  attention  to  the  church  as  a  social  organiza- 
tion. The  line  was,  of  course,  indefinite  between  the  church 
as  a  religious  organization  and  the  church  as  a  social  organiza 


248  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [446 

tion.  Catholic  writers,  as  a  rule,  seem  not  to  have  been  able  to 
discriminate  between  the  two  conceptions,  and  they  complained 
bitterly  of  the  American  inconsistency  which  talked  of  religious 
liberty,  and  yet  warred  against  a  church.  In  later  years  the 
same  charge  of  inconsistency  has  been  made  in  answer  to  at- 
tacks upon  the  Mormon  church  as  a  social  organization  con- 
trolling social  customs.  Nevertheless,  despite  all  protests, 
American  opinion  discriminates  between  church  organization 
as  a  means  of  grace  and  the  same  organization  as  a  director 
of  social  law.  The  position  has  been  practically  held  that 
minorities  may  not  plead  conscience  as  valid  excuse  for  break- 
ing with  settled  conditions  of  society.  The  war  of  nativism 
upon  the  Catholic  organization  was  not  after  all  inconsistent 
with  the  American  understanding  of  religious  liberty. 

Nativism  was  opposed  to  the  possession  of  political  power 
by  the  foreign  element  without  regard  to  the  church  affilia- 
tions of  that  element.  In  the  larger  cities  of  the  country  where 
the  foreign-born  population  was  considerable,  the  Irish  and 
German  people  formed  distinct  social  groups.  Although  they 
were  hardly  in  touch  with  American  ideas,  were  possessed  of 
few  responsibilities  as  citizens,  and  were  the  cause  of  unusual 
public  expense,  yet  they  were  insistent  upon  political  priv- 
ileges. In  most  cities  there  were  districts  where  the  foreign 
element  was  in  full  control.  In  some  cities  the  foreign  vote 
could  be  so  marshalled  as  to  hold  the  balance  of  power  be- 
tween the  parties.  Under  these  circumstances  the  leaders  of  the 
foreign  element  received  recognition  by  the  political  managers, 
and  became  party  workers  or  office-holders,  American-born 
citizens  did  not  like  the  presence  of  foreign  representatives  in 
office.  It  was  felt  that  these  men  would  act  according  to  the 
ideas  and  wishes  of  their  foreign  kindred,  rather  than  accord- 
ing to  those  of  the  American  community.  Nativism,  therefore, 
attacked  the  foreign  element  in  its  possession  of  political  influ- 
ence. As  cause  for  its  attack  nativism  alleged  the  danger  that 
American  customs  would  be  crowded  out  by  foreign  ones  if 


447]  ANALYSIS  OF  POLITICAL   NATIVISM  249 

foreigners  secured  control  of  the  political  machinery  of  the 
community.  More  especially  it  was  declared  that  the  un- 
American  Catholic  church  would  secure  undue  advantages 
from  the  rise  of  the  foreign  element  in  politics.  This  whole 
claim  of  danger  to  American  ideas  pre-supposed  that  the  for- 
eigners against  whom  the  warning  was  uttered  were  persons 
unassimilated  to  American  life.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
nativism  nominally  arrayed  itself  against  all  the  foreign-born^ 
whatever  might  be  their  social  position.  In  theory  it  recog- 
nized no  differences  among  foreign  persons.  Nativist  theory 
in  this  respect  was  illogical,  and  nativism  in  action  did  not  live 
up  to  its  theory.  Its  grievances  and  its  arguments  on  the 
question  of  foreign  birth  took  their  full  meaning  only  when 
applied  to  the  clannish  foreign  element.  In  political  work, 
also,  nativism  easily  joined  hands  with  Americanized  foreign- 
ers and  viewed  them  with  hearty  friendship.  It  made  no 
secret  of  the  fact  that  its  professed  enmity  for  foreign  birth 
was  not  wholly  real.  The  real  object  of  attack  was  the  for- 
eigner who  sought  to  exercise  political  power  over  an  Ameri- 
can community  with  whose  ideas  he  was  not  in  sympathy.  In 
its  warfare  against  this  class  of  the  foreign-born,  nativism  en- 
deavored to  strip  away  such  conditions  as  favored  the  en- 
croachment of  foreign  ideas  upon  American  custom.  It 
sought  to  reduce  the  foreign  political  influence  to  less  dan- 
gerous proportions.  This  effort  was  directed  upon  three 
points,  the  decrease  of  the  foreign  vote,  the  reform  of  election 
abuses,  and  the  barring  of  foreigners  from  office.  Nativism 
set  up  the  idea  of  a  homogeneous  body-politic  as  its  end. 

In  the  matter  of  decreasing  the  foreign  vote  the  nativists  ad- 
vocated restriction  of  naturalization  so  far  as  voting  was  con- 
cerned. They  were  willing  to  concede  civil  rights  to  the  for- 
eign immigrant  at  an  early  date,  but  not  the  elective  franchise. 
The  reduction  of  the  foreign  vote  was  urged  on  the  ground 
that  foreign-born  voters  used  the  ballot  without  a  knowledge 
of  its  effect  and  at  the  behest  of  leaders  whose  leadership  was 


250  POLITICAL  NATIVJSM  [448 

in  itself  to  be  deplored.  This  reference  to  leaders  was  di- 
rected partly  toward  the  mercenary  politicians  of  the  foreign 
quarters,  but  more  largely  toward  the  Catholic  clergy,  whose 
supposed  connection  with  politics  was  always  distasteful  to 
Americans.  The  specific  mode  proposed  for  reducing  the  for- 
eign vote  was  to  require  of  foreigners  twenty-one  years  of  resi- 
dence before  voting.  It  was  argued  that  this  would  corres- 
pond to  the  period  of  preparation  for  citizenship  that  was 
required  of  the  native-born,  but  the  argument  was  fallacious 
and  weak.  The  nativist  idea  of  reducing  the  foreign  vote  has 
not  been  endorsed  by  American  opinion  of  later  years.  The 
nation  has  refused  to  believe  that  the  foreign-born  as  a  class 
are  dangerous  to  national  well-being,  and  it  has  condemned 
the  test  of  birth  to  prove  character  of  citizenship.  The  refusal 
of  the  franchise  to  all  foreigners  is  deemed  now  to  be  an  unfair 
mode  of  striking  at  clannishness,  since  it  punishes  the  inno- 
cent with  the  guilty.  Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  note  that  the 
principle  of  the  thing  is  not  unrelated  to  that  of  certain 
more  recent  legislation  directed  against  Chinese  and  African 
blood  to  protect  the  dominant  race. 

In  the  matter  of  reforming  election  abuses,  the  nativ- 
ists  sought  to  secure  order  at  the  polls  and  to  eliminate  fraud- 
ulent votes.  These  reforms  were  urged  on  the  ground  that 
the  foreign  element  profited  by  fraudulent  increase  of  its  vot- 
ing power,  that  foreign  bullies  terrorized  the  native  vote  and 
that  unnaturalized  aliens  took  part  in  elections.  It  was  pro- 
posed that  the  election  bully  be  suppressed,  and  that  illegal 
votes  be  barred  out  by  an  official  registry  of  legal  voters.  In 
reality  this  attack  on  election  abuses  was  impartial  in  its  aims. 
It  struck  at  fraud  without  inquiring  as  to  the  birth-place  of  the 
offenders.  In  point  of  fact,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  of- 
fenses against  the  franchise  in  the  days  of  nativism  were  com- 
mitted by  native-born  citizens,  and  the  reforms  asked  by  nativ- 
ism were  measures  of  good  order  and  decency  that  applied  to 
all.  Public  opinion  has  since  approved  the  wishes  of  nativism 
in  this  direction. 


449]  ANALYSIS  OF  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  251 

In  the  matter  of  barring  foreigners  from  office,  the  nativists 
pleaded  the  danger  of  giving  power  to  men  who  would  use  it 
to  aid  the  advance  of  foreign  ideas.  They  took  the  ground 
that  holders  of  public  office  must  be  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  wishes  of  the  community  over  which  they  exercise 
authority.  Here  again  the  nativist  complaint  presupposed 
that  the  objectionable  foreigners  were  unassimilated,  and  its 
error  lay  in  the  broadness  of  the  dictum  that  all  the  foreign- 
born  should  be  refused  office.  The  nativist  plan  was  to  edu- 
cate public  opinion  to  vote  down  foreign-born  candidates. 
Nativism  did  not  advocate  exclusion  by  statute,  but  only 
by  popular  action.  The  weakness  of  the  plan  was  the  evident 
unfairness  of  making  nativity  a  test  of  privilege  and  punishing 
Americanized  foreigners  for  the  offences  of  the  clannish  element. 
It  was  proper,  perhaps,  to  declare  against  office-holding  by 
persons  not  in  sympathy  with  American  ways,  but  it  was  cer- 
tainly wrong  to  insist  that  foreign  birth  was  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  such  lack  of  sympathy.  Later  years  have  not  en- 
dorsed the  nativist  plan  of  refusing  office  on  the  score  of 
foreign  birth  alone. 

In  one  other  way  nativism  sought  to  express  opposition  to 
the  foreign  element.  It  desired  to  prevent  the  immigration  of 
paupers  and  criminals  from  Europe.  On  this  point  it  was 
working  more  for  social  and  economic  than  for  political  reform. 
The  migration  of  the  refuse  of  European  society  to  America 
brought  increased  taxes  and  lower  standards  of  social  action. 
Nativism  suggested  a  correction  of  the  evil  and  its  suggestion 
has  in  later  years  been  fully  approved. 

The  real  character  of  American  nativism  is  hardly  to 
be  estimated  from  the  theories  that  it  formulated  as  ex- 
planation of  its  efforts.  Without  a  better  key  to  its  real 
nature  it  is  difficult  indeed  to  understand  how  this  movement 
could  take  so  tremendous  a  sweep  of  action  as  it  did  and  yet 
possess  as  a  basis  so  fallacious  a  set  of  arguments  to  justify  it. 
It  is  possible,  however,  to  understand  it  better  than  by  a  test 


252  POLITICAL  NATJVISM  [450 

of  its  theories.  Nativism  in  the  great  cities  was  primarily  and 
above  all  things  a  phenomenon  of  racial  antagonism.  This 
is  the  explanation  of  its  inconsistent  combination  of  strong 
action  and  weak  excuse.  Sometimes  critics  detected  the  real 
motive  of  the  movement,  but  the  platforms  and  official  utter- 
ances of  the  nativists  never  cared  to  specify  the  feeling.  It  was 
because  of  this  element  of  racial  hostility  that  nativism  could 
announce  a  sweeping  program  of  exclusion  of  foreigners  and 
Catholics  from  office  and  that  it  could  obtain  support  for  it,  not 
only  from  Americans-born  but  from  foreign-born  citizens  as 
well.  It  was  because  of  its  embodiment  of  racial  hostility  that 
nativism  could  concentrate  upon  the  Catholic  church,  as  a  visible 
symbol  of  foreign  clannishness,  the  enmity  and  hatred  of  a 
public  which  boasted  of  its  religious  tolerance.  It  was  for  the 
same  reason  that  the  offences  of  foreigners  against  the  franchise 
were  met  by  an  indignation  which  had  never  been  called  forth 
against  native-born  offenders.  Such  was  the  real  character 
of  nativism  in  the  great  cities  where  the  foreign  element  was 
large.  Outside  of  the  cities  its  character  was  somewhat  dif- 
ferent. In  the  rural  districts  there  were  no  masses  of  foreign 
population  clannishly  asserting  themselves  in  defiance  of 
American  ways.  The  nativist  political  movement  in  national 
and  state  affairs  was  a  sham  and  a  pretext.  The  nation  as  a 
whole  was  never  nativist  in  feeling.  Probably  no  one  state,  as 
a  whole,  was  ever  genuinely  worried  over  the  existence  of  the 
foreign  element.  In  state  and  national  campaigns  nativism 
was  a  politicians'  movement  rather  than  a  popular  one.  Its 
issues  were  convenient  for  use  at  some  particular  crisis  and 
for  a  time  were  accepted  and  advocated  on  that  account.  In 
the  country  districts,  however,  nativism  had  no  enduring  basis 
in  general  public  sentiment.  These  facts  explain  the  marvelous 
rise  and  the  no  less  marvelous  collapse  of  nativism  in  its  na- 
tional organization.  It  was  a  mere  device  of  politics. 

Was  nativism  justifiable?     It  was  a  truth  that  the  foreign 
people  who  were  crossing  the  Atlantic  by  thousands  were 


45  l]  ANALYSIS  OF  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  253 

bringing  with  them  and  perpetuating  ideas  and  conditions  that 
were  inharmonious  with  those  evolved  by  two  centuries  of 
American  society.  Foreign  conditions  of  lawlessness,  poverty 
and  immorality  were  apparent.  Foreign  ideas  of  the  relation 
of  the  individual  to  society,  of  the  relation  of  church  and  state, 
of  the  use  of  public  office  and  political  opportunity,  of  the 
proper  sphere  of  clerical  influence,  were  seen  to  be  different 
from  those  of  Americans.  Foreign  lawlessness  and  poverty 
were  temporary  and  would  probably  yield  to  the  pressure  of 
better  environment,  but  foreign  ideas  as  to  church,  state  and 
society  seemed  persistent  and  even  aggressive.  Therefore  na- 
tivism  took  its  stand  in  opposition.  It  demanded  that  the 
new  people  should  take  up  the  ideas  of  American  society.  It 
asked  of  them  good  conduct  in  politics,  submissiveness  to  law, 
separation  of  church  from  politics,  adoption  of  unsectarian  edu- 
cation, rejection  of  clerical  control  and  abandonment  of  for- 
eign customs  and  sympathies.  In  short,  nativism  demanded 
that  the  new  people  lose  their  social  identity  and  aid  their  own 
absorption  into  American  society.  Whether  or  not  these  de- 
mands were  extreme  must  be  a  matter  of  opinion.  Popular 
instinct  seems,  however,  to  favor  the  idea  of  a  homogeneous 
society.  Nativism  strove  to  create  a  homogeneous  electorate 
with  the  idea  that  a  homogeneous  society  would  follow.  Its 
attack  upon  the  Catholic  church  was  an  effort  to  weaken  the 
support  of  foreign  society.  The  Catholic  church  itself  was  not 
untouched  by  nativism,  though  a  hint  of  the  fact  at  onetime  by 
a  Catholic  writer  brought  down  a  storm  upon  him.1  In  the 
main  the  church  was  foreign  in  personnel,  ideas  and  methods, 
and  its  attitude  invited  attack.  Whether  or  not  nativism  was 
justified  depends,  therefore,  on  the  right  of  immigrants  to  bring 
new  ways  to  American  society.  The  American  argument  sup- 
posed that  republican  America  was  more  advanced  in  its  social 
structure  than  Europe,  and  that  the  adoption  of  European 
ideas  meant  social  retrogression.  Americans  had  no  protest 
1  Broivnson's  Review,  1854. 


254  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [452 

to  make  against  European  culture  and  experience,  but  only 
against  European  ideas  of  the  position  of  the  individual  in 
society.  If  the  American  faith  in  itself  was  wrong,  then  per- 
haps the  whole  attitude  of  nativism  was  also  wrong. 

What  results  had  nativist  effort?  As  barren  of  success  as 
the  work  of  nativism  seems  when  it  is  looked  back  upon,  it 
yet  was  not  resultless.  It  brought  about  a  thorough  discus- 
sion of  the  attitude  to  be  taken  by  the  American  people  to- 
ward the  immigrants  from  foreign  lands.  In  the  earlier  years 
of  the  Republic  the  nation  took  the  position  of  undiscriminat- 
ing  welcome  to  all,  preaching  that  individual  liberty  was 
a  right  of  residence.  It  was  the  abuse  of  that  liberty  and 
the  opposition  of  the  foreign-born  to  American  ideas  that 
brought  a  re  examination  of  old  theories  and  an  attempted  re- 
shaping of  policy.  It  is  rash,  perhaps,  to  try  to  formulate  the 
"  views  "  of  a  great  nation,  but  so  far  as  American  opinion  can 
be  judged  it  seems  to  have  decided  this, — that  foreign  ideas  may 
be  followed  by  foreigners  resident  in  America,  but  those  ideas 
must  not  attempt  any  career  of  conquest  in  American  society. 
Social  clannishness,  ecclesiastical  domination  and  race  combi- 
nations in  politics  exist  by  sufferance,  but  they  are  emphatically 
non-American  ideas  to  be  reprobated  on  broad  grounds  "of 
public  policy.  This  opinion  is  the  contribution  of  nativism  to 
the  evolution  of  American  democratic  ideals. 


SOURCES 

In  the  American  political  system  the  political  party  is  an 
organization  almost  entirely  extra-legal  in  character.  It  is 
seldom  recognized  by  the  public  records  of  the  community. 
In  the  study  of  a  partisan  movement,  therefore,  the  ordinary 
sources  for  political  history  very  largely  fail.  The  story  must 
be  made  up  from  the  records  of  the  organization  itself,  if  any 
exist,  from  the  private  papers  of  men  who  directed  its  work 
and  from  the  newspaper  files  which  chronicled  its  various 
moves  in  the  never-ending  game  of  politics.  The  nativist 
political  organizations  had  records  of  their  own  in  their  day  of 
activity.  There  were,  presumably,  minutes  of  the  sessions  of 
its  state  committees  and  state  conventions,  of  its  local  execu- 
tive committees  and  party  conventions  in  the  localities  where 
it  existed.  There  were  certainly,  during  a  part  of  the  nativist 
period,  records  of  the  secret  bodies  of  one  sort  or  another  in 
which  the  voters  and  adherents  of  the  movement  were  organ- 
ized. Of  these  two  sorts  of  records  very  little  seems  to  be 
now  extant.  The  writer  has  found  no  manuscript  record 
whatever  of  committee  or  convention,  and  but  small  material 
for  the  secret  system.  The  great  Know-Nothing  Order  has  ; 
left  hardly  a  trace  of  itself  in  the  way  of  records.  Many  of  its 
official  documents  were  re-printed  by  the  daily  press  at  the  time 
they  were  issued,  and  these  have  been  valuable  aids  in  work, 
but  as  to  manuscript  material  the  writer  has  found  nothing. 
The  records  of  the  Know-Nothing  Grand  Council  are  pre- 
sumed to  have  passed  from  one  grand  secretary  to  another 
till  the  Grand  Council  ended  ;  but  the  late  Hon.  James  W. 
Husted,  who  was  the  last  regular  secretary  of  the  state  organ i- 
453]  255 


256  POLITICAL  N ATI  VIS M 

zation,  left  no  material  of  the  sort  among  his  private  papers  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  and  the  real  fate  of  the  Grand  Council 
records  can  only  be  guessed.  The  records  of  the  State 
Chancery  of  the  Order  of  United  Americans  are  known  to 
have  been  burned  by  the  last  grand  secretary  after  the  Orde'- 
had  gone  to  pieces.  The  records  of  the  Executive  Conven- 
tion and  grand  executive  committee  of  the  United  Americans 
were  more  fortunate  in  their  fate,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
last  grand  sachem  of  the  Order,  Mr.  Charles  E.  Gildersleeve, 
now  of  New  York  city,  in  whose  possession  they  yet  remain. 
The  same  gentleman  has  the  records  of  two  of  the  subordinate 
chapters  of  the  Order. 

The  paucity  of  actual  records  of  executive  work  on  the 
part  of  the  nativists  has  been  partly  relieved  by  the  existence 
of  collections  of  documents  bearing  indirectly  upon  the  sub- 
ject. The  writer  has  had  access  to  the  collection  of  Mr. 
Gildersleeve,  which  includes,  besides  the  records  above-named, 
a  mass  of  miscellaneous  material  bearing  upon  the  history  of 
the  United  Americans.  He  has  also  been  favored  by  access 
to  the  collection  of  Mr.  Henry  Baldwin,  of  New  Haven,  Conn., 
in  which  there  is  considerable  material  relating  to  the  early 
American  Republican  movement,  as  well  as  matter  relating  to 
the  United  Americans.  The  private  papers  of  James  W. 
Barker,  the  Know-Nothing  leader,  were  in  private  hands  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  some  years  ago  and  were  known  to  include 
documents  relating  to  the  Know-Nothing  movement,  but  their 
present  location  is  uncertain.  The  private  papers  of  Hon. 
Erastus  Brooks,  the  later  leader  of  the  American  Party,  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  family  in  New  York  city.  Inquiry  as  to 
these  elicits  the  fact  that  they  contain  no  material  which  can- 
not be  obtained  from  the  newspaper  files  of  the  time. 

The  use  of  public  records  in  this  work  has  been  small. 
The  printed  journals  of  Congress  and  of  the  New  York  legis- 
lature have  been  useful  aids  in  following  the  course  of 
nativist  attempts  at  law-making.  The  same  is  true  of  the 


455]  SOURCES  257 

printed  proceedings  of  the  common  council  of  New  York 
city.  Within  the  pages  of  these  records  can  also  be  traced 
the  appearance  of  those  petitions  which  usually  mark  the  rise 
of  popular  interest  in  any  particular  topic.  Another  class  of 
public  records  which  are  of  especial  importance  in  the  study 
of  parties  is  that  of  official  canvasses  of  votes,  for  it  is  by  the 
popular  support  of  its  tickets  that  the  strength  of  any  political 
organization  must  be  judged.  The  local  canvasses  of  New 
York  city  previous  to  1854  are  not  known  to  be  extant  as 
public  records  and  their  figures  have  to  be  supplied  from  the 
daily  press.  In  1854  and  afterward  the  official  canvasses  were 
usually  published  in  full  by  the  city,  and  can  be  readily  found 
in  newspaper  files.  The  figures  of  the  official  canvasses  are 
also  given  by  Valentine's  manuals  of  the  corporation  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  but  these  are  not  always  reliable.  The 
official  canvasses  of  the  state  in  1854  and  after  were  usually 
published  by  the  New  York  press  in  full  text. 

So  far  as  secondary  authorities  are  concerned  there  is  little 
information  to  be  gathered  on  the  subject  of  nativist  political 
effort,  although  there  is  a  wealth  of  printed  material  on  the 
principles  and  grievances  of  nativism.  The  earlier  nativist 
movement  of  1843-47  did  not  become  strong  enough  to  call 
out  any  extended  history  of  its  work,  while  the  later  move- 
ments of  the  Know-Nothing  period  remained  almost  un- 
chronicled  because  of  its  secret  character,  which  forbade  pub- 
lication of  details.  Only  two  works,  those  of  Whitney  and  of 
Carroll,  make  any  useful  reference  to  the  Know-Nothing  soci- 
ety. The  following  books  have  been  used  in  the  preparation 
of  this  work : 

"An  American."  Imminent  Dangers  to  the  Free  Institutions  of  the  United 
States  through  Foreign  Immigration.  New  York,  1835.  ^*  ^.  Hist.  Soc. 
Library. 

Carroll,  Anna  Ella.  The  Great  American  Battle,  or  the  Contest  between 
Christianity  and  Political  Romanism.  New  York,  Auburn,  1856.  Columbia 
University  Library. 

Kehoe,  Lawrence,  editor.     Complete  Works  of  the  Most  Rev.  John  Hughes 


258  POLITICAL  NATIVISM  [456 

D>.  D.,  Archbishop  of  New  York.  2  vols.  New  York,  1866.  N.  Y.  Public 
Library,  Astor  Branch. 

Lee,  John  Hancock.  The  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  American  Party  in 
Politics.  Philadelphia,  1855.  Columbia  University  Library. 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B.  Foreign  Conspiracy  against  the  Liberties  of  tht  United 
States.  Seventh  edition.  New  York,  1852.  Columbia  University  Library. 

Orr,  Hector.  The  Native  American,  a  Gift  for  the  People.  Philadelphia, 
1845.  Columbia  University  Library. 

Shea,  John  Gilmary.  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States. 
New  York,  1888,  1890.  Columbia  University  Library. 

Smith,  Thomas  E.  V.  Political  Parties  and  Their  Places  of  Meeting  in  New 
York  City.  New  York,  1893.  N-  Y-  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

Smith,  William  C.  Pillars  in  the  Temple,  or  Sketches  of  Deceased  Laymen 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  New  York,  1872.  Private  copy. 

Tisdale,  W.  S.,  compiler.  The  Controversy  Between  Senator  Brooks  and 
« «  \John ,' '  Archbishop  of  New  York.  New  York  [  1 85 5  ] .  N.  Y.  Public  Library 
Astor  Branch. 

Whitney,  Thomas  R.  A  Defense  of  the  American  Policy  as  Opposed  to  the 
Encroachments  of  Foreign  Influence.  New  York  [1856].  Columbia  University 
Library. 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  material  here  used  has  been 
gleaned  from  the  newspaper  files  of  the  period  in  which  nativ- 
ism  essayed  its  political  role.  In  this  line  of  research,  also, 
there  have  been  difficulties.  In  the  earlier  period  of  nativism, 
when  it  was  an  open  movement,  the  daily  press  was  not  ac- 
customed to  chronicle  political  news  with  any  fullness.  In  the 
later  period  of  nativism,  when  it  was  a  secret  movement,  the 
daily  press  was  disposed  fo  say  much,  but  had  not  the  facts  to 
tell.  In  every  period  when  nativism  was  active  there  were 
newspapers  devoted  to  its  service  with  varying  degrees  of 
heartiness,  but  those  which  were  most  typically  and  completely 
nativist  in  sentiment  were  usually  short-lived,  disappearing 
with  the  movement  on  which  they  were  founded.  Of  those 
papers  and  magazines  of  New  York  state  which  were  friendly 
to  nativism,  and  which  might  be  styled  the  mouth-pieces  of 
the  movement,  few  are  known  to  exist  in  files  to-day.  The 
lack  of  such  files  is  not  a  serious  matter,  however,  for  the 


457]  SOURCES  259 

columns  of  those  which  fought  nativism  are  fully  as  useful  for 
purposes  of  research,  providing  that  proper  allowance  be  made 
for  the  natural  bias  of  the  papers.  In  the  preparation  of  this 
work  the  following  files  have  been  used : 

The  Albany  Argus,  1842-45,  1854.     Cornell  University  Library. 

The  American  (Poughkeepsie),  1845-46.  Baldwin  Collection,  New  Haven, 
Conn. 

Evening  Gazette,  1845-46,  continued  as  Gazette  and  Times,  1846-47.  N.  Y. 
Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

Evening  Mirror,  1847,  I^53-     N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

Morning  Courier  and  New  York  Enquirer,  1835-36,  1844-45,  I^54~55- 
N.  Y.  Public  Library,  Astor  Branch.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

New  York  American,  1835-37,  1841.     N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

New  York  Citizen  and  American  Republican,  1844,  continued  as  New  York 
American  Republican,  1844.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

New  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  1836-37,  1841-42,  1853.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 
Library. 

New  Yorker,  1837-40.     N.  Y.  Public  Library,  Astor  Branch. 

New  York  Evening  Post,  1835-36,  1841,  1845,  1852-54.  N-  Y-  Public  Lib- 
rary,  Astor  Branch. 

New  York  Herald,  1836-60.  N.  Y.  Public  Library,  Astor  and  Lenox  Branches. 
N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  1841-45,  1853.  N.  Y.  Society  Library. 
N.  Y.  Public  Library,  Astor  Branch. 

New  York  Observer,  1836,  1840-43.     N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

New  York  Times,  1852-57.     N.  Y.  Public  Library,  Astor  Branch. 

New  York  Tribune,  1841-46,  1853-60.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library.  N.  Y 
Public  Library,  Astor  Branch. 

The  O.  U.  A.,  1848-49-     N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

The  Plebeian,  1844.     N.  Y.  Society  Library. 

The  Republic,  1851-52.     N.  Y.  Public  Library,  Astor  Branch. 

Rochester  Daily  American,  1844-45.     N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

The  Sun,  1843.     Office  Sun  Publishing  Company. 


VITA. 

Louis  Dow  Scisco,  the  author  of  this  work,  was  born  in 
1868  at  Baldwinsville,  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  village  schools,  graduating  in  1884  from  the  local 
Academy,  and  at  once  entered  Cornell  University.  He  grad- 
uated with  the  degree  of  B.  S.  in  1888.  Shortly  after  leaving 
college,  he  visited  the  West,  and  there  accepted  a  place  on  the 
staff  of  the  Clinton  (Iowa)  Evening  News.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  several  years  of  newspaper  work.  Returning  in 
1891  to  his  native  state,  he  soon  went  upon  the  local  staff  of 
the  Syracuse  (N.  Y.)  Daily  Journal,  where  he  remained  some 
time.  Leaving  Syracuse  in  1895,  he  occupied  for  a  short  time 
a  sub-editorship  on  the  Buffalo  (N.  Y.)  Sunday  Times,  but 
soon  left  it  to  go  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  where  he  became  local 
writer  in  charge  of  labor  news  for  the  Detroit  Journal,  and 
later  marine  editor.  During  all  his  newspaper  life  he  was 
interested  in  historical  work.  At  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  he  was 
secretary  of  the  Onondaga  Historical  Association,  and  con- 
tributed to  local  history  a  small  work  on  his  native  town  of 
Van  Buren.  From  time  to  time  he  contributed  historical 
articles  to  the  press.  In  1897,  finally,  he  resigned  from  the 
Detroit  Journal,  and  entered  the  University  of  Michigan  as 
post-graduate  student  in  history.  He  was  granted  the  degree 
of  B.  L.  in  1898.  In  the  following  year  he  attended  Cornell 
University,  holding  there  the  graduate  scholarship  in  American 
history.  In  the  year  1899-1900  he  completed  his  graduate 
work  at  Columbia  University.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Historical  Association,  and  life-member  of  the  Onondaga 
Historical  Association.  He  has  contributed  to  the  "American 
Historical  Register,"  the  '*  National  Geographical  Magazine," 
the  "  American  Magazine  of  Civics,"  and  the  "  New  York 
Genealogical  and  Biographical  Record." 

459]  261 


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